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BRADENTON (FOX 13) - Thieves wanting to make a quick buck have been removing pieces of aluminum railings off a fence protecting Adams Cemetery.
"They just used a pair of bolt cutters. It's so disrespectful of the dead," said Councilman Patrick Roff.
Roff is in disbelief over the pettiness of the crime.
"Someone left 2 cents. That's probably what that's worth right there," he said pointing to a dropped piece of fence.
Bradenton's first founders are buried at Adams Cemetery. A few months ago, the city put up the $20,000 fence in an effort to spruce up the area. Soon after, pieces of it started disappearing.
"It just blew my top when I heard about it," said Roff.
Most of the missing pieces are on the west side of the cemetery, out of plain view. But now thieves have moved to the sides.
"Obviously their intent was to scrap and steal and I can tell you they wouldn't have netted a few more than a couple of bucks," said Roff.
Councilman Roff believes it's only a matter of time before the culprits are caught. When they are, he said prosecutors should throw the book at them.
"This needs to stop and it needs to stop right now and we are going to need the communities to help. Someone out there knows who did this," he said.
As the city makes a decision on whether to repair the fence or replace it with a fail-proof, chain link fence, Councilman Roff said enough is enough.
"I want there to be a clear message that this is not going to be tolerated," he said.
If you have any information contact Bradenton police at 941-932-9300