Employee damages several gravestones at Gonzales cemetery

Several tombstones were toppled over and headstones were damaged at a cemetery in South Monterey County.

Police responded to Gonzales Cemetery Tuesday morning after receiving these reports.

Authorities told KION a cemetery employee is responsible. The cemetery groundskeeper has since been fired. People there today say they were told by other cemetary staff that the worker was drunk on the job.

In photos shared with KION you can see tire markings on cemetery plots and several cracked gravestones.

One employee says the incident happened back on February 14th.

Vidi Valdez, who has multiple famliy members buried at the cemetery found her brother’s gravesite destroyed.

“There was cement broken. The flowers were on the ground. You really can’t see what his tombstone looked like,” Valdez tells KION.

Gonzales Police say this does not appear to be a criminal act and no one has been arrested.

However, some people with family at the cemetery, Tuesday, say more action needs to be taken.

“Damage was done. They are trying to say that it’s not vandalized. Yes it is,” said Patricia Carrasco.

Carrasco’s family was not affected. But she says this is a tight knit community, so everyone feels the pain.

The cemetary immediately hired two workers to help repair the damage. They also say that people will not have to pay for any repair costs.