Man accused of stealing statues from Hall County cemetery arrested, officials say

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — The man accused of stealing statues from a Gainesville cemetery was arrested over the weekend, Hall County officials said.

Officials say the man stole some of the bronze animal statues at Memorial Park Cemetery on Memorial Park Road in Gainesville.

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Santiago Morales Villalobos, 24, of Gainesville was arrested after he led law enforcement officers on a chase in a stolen pickup truck.

Sheriff officials issued an arrest warrant on Aug. 30, 2022, after they determined the suspect was responsible for the thefts of at least four brass animal statues from the cemetery.

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Villalobos had been at large until Saturday, when deputies were tipped off that a Ford F-150 reported stolen in the City of Gainesville, was located at the entrance to Amberleigh Trace subdivision on Poplar Springs Road.

When deputies arrived at the scene, Villalobos drove directly at one of the patrol vehicles, forcing the deputy to swerve to avoid a collision, officials said. Villalobos sped from the scene to Willow Ridge subdivision, where the stolen truck was found at a residence.

Deputies searched the house and arrested Villalobos.

He was charged with felony aggravated assault on a peace officer in connection with the Oct. 8 incident; he was also charged with six misdemeanor traffic violations.

Villalobos was charged with theft by receiving stolen property for the theft of the truck and also faces theft by taking charges for the August statue thefts.

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He is currently in custody at the Hall County Jail.

A second suspect in the cemetery statue thefts was arrested on Sept. 13, 2022.

Abigail Magdalena Reyes, 25, of Gainesville was charged with theft by receiving. She is out of jail on bond at this time, officials said.

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