Sugar Grove man gets 7 years for cemetery thefts

A Sugar Grove man who took part in the theft of more than 100 bronze vases from a cemetery in Aurora and later tried to run over a sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Vincent Teruel, 36, pleaded guilty to his role in the theft and to aggravated battery, The (Aurora) Beacon-News reported.

Teruel and another man, who is on trial, are accused of stealing the vases from Lincoln Memorial Cemetery and selling them. The memorial vases are worth $500 each.

Witnesses identified the men and police began tracking them, including by placing a GPS device on Teruel's car.

When police attempted to arrest him at a motel, Teruel tried to run over a deputy with his vehicle twice and then fled.

Officers later followed Teruel and his co-defendant to a Cook County cemetery in September 2013, and they were arrested while robbing graves there, according to Chicago police.