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Cemetery owner is given an ultimatum

The cemetery where the remains of a boy were stolen better be cleaned up fast, a judge demands.

By JUSTIN GEORGE
Published August 17, 2006

TAMPA - Circuit Judge Rex Barbas seemed to lean toward leniency Wednesday until he thought over the fact that a 95-year-old's casket had been left uncovered in a grave for at least a week.

That's when he held a "hammer" over John R. Robinson to make him comply with a past order Robinson hadn't met: Clean up and secure the cemetery within 10 days or face six months in the county jail.

"Are you getting my drift, sir?" Barbas said.

"Yes, sir," Robinson replied.

On July 31, Barbas gave Robinson, the owner of Memorial Park cemetery, 10 days to rope-off open graves, mow overgrown grass obscuring headstones and trim trees. Memorial Park in Belmont Heights was where the remains of 6-year-old Stevie Dale were stolen from an above-ground vault in June. The desecration came 31 years after he was killed by a car. Authorities don't know who took the remains.

Dale's mother, Mattie D. Dale, sued Robinson for negligence. Her attorney also wanted Robinson to clean up the site, as required by state law, making the grounds safer and less attractive to vandals.

Robinson had until Friday. Four days later, Dale's attorney, Darryl Rouson, sent an intern to check out the cemetery. She took pictures of overgrown trees and grass, debris, an empty water bottle and an open grave.

Robinson's attorney, Erik Matheney, argued that the pictures didn't represent the 20-acre cemetery's current condition, and the judge agreed. Barbas, who visited the grounds a few times since his first order, drove around it again Wednesday.

"I'd say he's about 80 to 85 percent completed everything he had to do," Barbas said, calling Robinson's work "a good faith effort."

He didn't seem concerned about the missed deadline. He was mostly interested in the cemetery's current condition and the dangers it might pose to curious children and others.

Initially, he thought the exposed casket was a federal agency's responsibility. But then he thought about kids tagging it with graffiti - or doing worse.

Matheney explained that the deceased person's family faced financial issues and wanted to wait another week for burial. Only part of the casket was exposed.

"These are human remains, whether it's the end of the casket (exposed)," Barbas pointed out.

Robinson, who told Barbas he's doing the best he can mowing and trimming six days a week, said he should have the site cleaned up in a week or sooner.

[Last modified August 17, 2006, 06:32:22]