JENNINGS — Two Jennings men accused of damaging dozens of graves at three Jefferson Davis Parish cemeteries in February pleaded
guilty Monday to felony vandalism charges.
Sebastian Abshire, 19, and Dacota Miguez, 17, were placed on three years’ supervised probation, and they must pay more than
$16,000 each in restitution and write letters of apology. They must also clean and maintain local cemeteries.
A third person, Joselyn Mire, 19, of Evangeline pleaded guilty last month and received the same sentence, according to District
Attorney Michael Cassidy.
In addition, the three must pay nearly $500 in fines, court costs and reimbursement to the judicial system, and they must
serve 90 days in jail with credit for time served. Abshire and Miguez have already served nearly three weeks; Mire served
about two, Cassidy said.
Miguez must also obtain a GED.
The defendants had faced up to two years in prison, Cassidy said.
“What they did was so horrific; my
first thought was they should receive more incarceration,” Cassidy said
shortly after the
sentencing. “But at the same time, I wanted to make sure the
victims had some opportunities to get financial restitution and
they couldn’t do it if they were serving time.”
Cassidy said the amount of damage is expected to exceed the initial estimate — $48,000 because some repairs are still being
made.
Judy Cormier, whose stepson’s and husband’s graves were damaged at Greenwood Cemetery in Jennings, hopes the sentencing will
help the defendants change their lives around. “I think they may learn from this mistake and not make it again,” she said.
Bonnie Faulk, whose husband’s grave was painted with profanity, agreed. “I hope they learned their lesson,” Faulk said.
Alice Sherman, whose parents’ and grandfather’s graves were damaged at Doucet Cemetery near Hathaway, said the sentencing
was “OK.”
The trio reportedly painted profanity
and graffiti on more than a dozen graves and headstones at Calvary and
Greenwood cemeteries
and did similar damage at Doucet Cemetery in February.
They confessed and told authorities they were not drinking or on drugs at the time, Cassidy said.