by Joseph M. Giordano

The last man to face trial in a spate of cemetery vandalism along German Hill Road in October 2002 was found guilty on two counts of destruction of funerary objects in Baltimore County District Court on May 19, according to court documents. Judge Darryl G. Fletcher meted out a three-year sentence with all but one year suspended to East Avenue resident Fritz Froehlich for his role in the destruction of headstones at Holy Rosary, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacred Heart of Mary and St. Andrew's cemeteries on German Hill Road.

Froehlich, 22, also was placed on two years of supervised probation, according to the documents, and was acquitted of three counts of malicious destruction of property.

Almost two years ago, Froehlich and partner Jose Perez, 20, of Four Georges Court caused about $480,000 in damage to the cemeteries before being turned in by an anonymous tipster, who led police to a third man, Walter Sumner, also of Four Georges Court.

Froehlich was arrested on Dec. 9, 2002, at his home in the 1800 block of East Avenue after police interviewed both Perez and Sumner, according to the documents.

Sumner, who went to trial in August 2003, had his charges tabled for a year after he agreed to testify against Perez and Froehlich. If arrested again, Sumner can face the same charges he avoided this time.

Perez was found guilty on three counts of destruction of funerary objects and sentenced by Baltimore County Circuit Judge Lawrence R. Daniels on Sept. 13 to 18 months in prison, 1,300 hours of community service to be served at all four cemeteries and five years of supervised probation.

http://dundalkeagle.com/articles/2004/05/26/news/more_news/news12.txt