Fourth person arrested as part of historical marker theft case

HAMPTON — A fourth person has been arrested connected to thefts of memorial plaques from cemeteries throughout the area.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says they’ve arrested 41-year-old Joshua Sellers of Manly on charges of first-degree theft and first-degree criminal mischief. Sellers and three others are accused of taking markers from multiple rural and city cemeteries in Franklin, Butler, Cerro Gordo and Floyd counties, etching off all the markings, and then cutting them into pieces so they could be taken to a salvage business.

43-year-old Brandon Smith of Hampton, 33-year-old Lauren Johnson of Dumont and 31-year-old Rachel Card of Hampton all pleaded not guilty earlier this week to the same charges as part of the case. Their trials are scheduled to start on April 8th.

A date for Sellers to appear in court was not immediately published in court records.

First-degree theft and first-degree criminal mischief are both Class C felonies, each punishable by up to ten years in prison.