Artesia Cemetery Bandits Plead Not Guilty In Tuesday Morning Break-In

A man and woman pleaded not guilty today to charges stemming from an early morning break-in at the Artesia Cemetery in Cerritos where a wooden cross bearing military insignia was stolen on Tuesday.

Jason Robert Fluharty, 29, of Torrance, and Jolynn Amanda Ramirez, 29, of Artesia, are each charged with one count of second-degree burglary and misdemeanor vandalism.

Ramirez was also charged with a felony count of possession of a deadly weapon -- brass knuckles.

If convicted, Fluharty faces up to three years in county jail while Ramirez faces a maximum of three years and eight months behind bars, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The events leading up to the duo's arrest began about 3 a.m. on Dec. 27 when they broke into the cemetery located at 11142 Artesia Blvd. in Cerritos, and stole a white wooden cross bearing a circular military insignia from a maintenance-storage yard. The intruders also tried to break into a nearby on-site office through a window, but failed, Lt. Geoffrey Deedrick of the told Patch.

During the burglary investigation, deputies learned that the overnight break-in was caught on cemetery surveillance video, the lieutenant said. A few hours later a cemetery employee notified the deputy investigating the case that the same suspects were just spotted near the back fence of the property.

The deputy immediately responded to the location, where she apprehended the pair on Studebaker Road near Artesia Boulevard.

The stolen cross was found inside a backpack being carried by Fluharty at the time of the arrests, Deedrick said. (See image carousel for a photo of the stolen cross.)

Fluharty has been jailed in lieu of $30,000 bail, while Ramirez is being held on $60,000 bail. The two are scheduled to make their next court appearance Jan. 6.

The Artesia Cemetery

The 14-acre Artesia Cemetery was formed in 1929 and is one of 265 public cemeteries throughout the state. Operations are governed by a Board of Trustees, appointed by Supervisor Don Knabe, Fourth District, Los Angeles County, and currently include: Joyce Yeutter, District Manager, and Trustees Lupe Cabrera, Dick Redmayne and Barbara Applebury.

About 30 veterans of the Civil War are buried on the grounds, which also includes the graves of veterans of several other conflicts, including a casualty of the war in Iraq.