Man accused of robbing Elmhurst graves

A Northbrook man is facing criminal charges after being accused of robbing dozens of grave sites in an Elmhurst cemetery.

Alfonso Flores, 34, of Northbrook, is charged with theft, vandalism of a gravestone and possession of a controlled substance.

Prosecutors allege Flores tried to flee Nov. 3 with 40 bronze and copper vases and a gravestone marker after looting Mount Emblem Cemetery at 600 E. Grand Ave. in Elmhurst.

Police said he also had a small amount of heroin in his possession when nabbed that same day. Flores has been held in the DuPage County jail since his Nov. 3 arrest on a $100,000 bond.

A DuPage County grand jury indicted him Tuesday. He's expected to be arraigned Monday.

Two other men were arrested last month on suspicion they robbed dozens of grave sites in an Oakbrook Terrace cemetery. Louis Cortez, 25, of Berwyn and Ervin Callicut, 51, of Chicago face felony theft charges.

Police said they stole more than 65 vases Sept. 27 from Chapel Hill Cemetery. Authorities said such thefts occur occasionally because the material can be sold for scrap value.

"Grieving families deserve better than to have the final resting place of their loved ones looted by grave robbers," DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said. "Anyone who sees fit to steal from the dead is going to pay a price."