Carlsbad Cemetery Owner Pleads To Charge of Disturbing Grave
Associated Press
CARLSBAD — The operator of a Carlsbad cemetery, accused of digging up a woman's cremated remains during a payment dispute with her family, has pleaded no contest to a charge of disturbing a marked burial ground.
Bill Crouch, who owns Sunset Gardens Cemetery with his wife Gladys, changed his plea Tuesday from not guilty.
"I wasn't surprised with the plea change,'' said District Attorney Terry Haake. "I felt our facts were very strong, and I felt secure in going to a jury and asking them to find him guilty of the charge.''
Crouch's attorney, Gary Mitchell, said Crouch decided to change his plea after an earlier court ruling against him.
Mitchell had argued in a motion to dismiss the case that state law concerning disturbing marked burial grounds did not apply because the woman, Jewel B. Lewis, had been cremated. But the court ruled cremated remains are treated the same as others.
It was an important legal issue that determined the case, Mitchell said.
Crouch agreed in court to rebury Lewis in a service Sept. 2 at the cemetery.
Her son, Aubrey Lewis, told the court after Crouch changed his plea that he wanted Crouch to do what he was supposed to do to start with — bury his mother and mark her grave with her date of death.
Crouch, who was charged in July 2004, is to be sentenced in about 60 days.
Haake said he would seek a suspended sentence if Crouch handles several issues before then.
In addition to the Lewis reburial, Haake said he would like Crouch to resolve issues with three other families if possible. He said those are largely civil issues, such as alleged breach of contract.
"If he does what I ask him to do, then I will ask the court to suspend his sentence,'' the district attorney said.
Aubrey Lewis has said Gladys Crouch told him after his mother died in April 2003 that there would be a $200 charge for opening and closing the gravesite beside his father and that Bill Crouch told him it had to be paid before the funeral.
He said he and his sister tried unsuccessfully to reach the Crouches for days beforehand, and finally left a check in Crouch's office the day of the service. A few days later, Crouch told Lewis he knew nothing about a check. The brother and sister later decided to cancel payment.
A week later, they discovered their mother's remains removed.
news 
E-mail Story
Print Friendly
