On July 26th, an officer from Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the Bagdad Cemetary to investigate a reported theft. Upon arrival, a woman told the officer that a large American flag along with its 20-foot pole had been stolen.
The woman reported that the flag and pole were recently purchased and installed in the cemetery. She also said that 15 smaller American flags that were surrounding the cemetery’s pavilion were missing.
The officer reviewed video footage from the cemetery’s security system and watched a woman, later identified as Connie Whigum, drive her car into the Bagdad Cemetery earlier that morning and exited the vehicle.
Whigum was then seen on camera breaking the 20-foot pole apart into several sections and loading it into the backseat of her car.
Oh, #Florida! Woman caught on surveillance video stealing 16 American flags from cemetery — and then taking the 20-foot flagpole, too. https://t.co/fVCRPfaKGq via @CWarrenHicks
— Craig Pittman (@craigtimes) August 7, 2020
She then went around and collected 15 of the smaller American flags planted in the ground and put them into her car.
The officer was later able to search the law enforcement database and compare the woman in the security footage to on-file images until he was able to determine Whigum’s photo to be a match.
Connie Whigum was placed under arrest that Sunday and charged with removing or disfiguring a tomb or monument.
She was taken to the Santa Rosa County Jail and given a bond of $10,000.
