Friday morning at a pond in the Purley area in Franklin County, two Hopkins County inmates, Joseph Icenhour and Jesse Graham (in picture above), went into the water and retrieved a cross that had been cast aside there by Canyon Ray Davis, 17, of Saltillo, and Johnny Bench, 18, of Saltillo (both pictured below).
Davis and Bench threw the cross, taken from the Weaver Cemetery during vandalism, into the pond when they learned that they were subjects of the Hopkins County Sheriff’s office investigation of the incident.
Hopkins County Sheriff Lewis Tatum said his Criminal Investigators received leads from members of the community that have also been working vigilantly trying to solve the destruction of the Weaver Cemetery. Davis and Johnny Bench were arrested for Tampering with Evidence and Davis was also arrested for Criminal Mischief. Davis additional charge relates to damage done to a church building in the Pine Forest/ Pickton, area and damage to mail boxes. Charges for destruction of the grave markers will be pending after meeting with the District Attorney’s office.
