The accused Fox Crossing grave marker thief has appeared in court.
Court records show that 58-year-old Bradley Bloch was present inside a Winnebago County courtroom yesterday (October 6th) for his initial appearance.
Bloch has been charged with one felony count of Theft of Movable Property of over $10,000 in connection to six cast iron cross grave markers.
These 150-year-old grave markers were stolen from St. Patrick’s Cemetery in May, earlier this year.
Once reported, the Fox Crossing Police Department opened an investigation, quickly tracing one of the crosses to a Facebook Marketplace post.
This led authorities to Bloch, a Lamartine resident, who was able to be placed near the cemetery at the time of the thefts, thanks to evidence obtained throughout the investigation.
The 58-year-old was later arrested, and all six crosses were eventually tracked down to various buyers in Wisconsin and Illinois, unaware they had purchased stolen goods.
Each of the crosses is said to be valued at between $10,000 and $15,000.
At yesterday’s hearing, Bloch was given a $500 signature bond, which he signed and ordered not to use Facebook Marketplace or internet sale websites, and he is to have no contact with any graveyards.
He returns to court on October 27th for further proceedings.
