Two face jail time for vase thefts

By Staff
A Falkville man and a Somerville woman pled guilty in connection to the theft of some $2,500 in cemetery vases in March 2008.
Billy Matthew Wright, 32, of 410 West Piney Grove Road, Falkville, pled guilty to two counts of first degree theft, first degree receiving stolen property and second degree robbery. He received a 10-year sentence for each of the thefts and stolen property charges and one 19-year sentence for robbery. The sentences will run concurrently.
Zelma Genell Hughes, 26, 407 Friendship Road, Somerville, pled guilty to first-degree receiving stolen property. She faces two years in prison. Hughes’ brother, Jurdy Hughes, also faces theft charges in connection with the case.
The sentences follow the recovery of some 52 vases from a scrap metal business in Moulton. Law enforcement officials said some of the vases were stolen on a church cemetery on Highway 67 South.