Milton man leaves his mark

A Milton man has been arrested and transported to Covington County to face criminal charges stemming from a vandalism case in 2006.

Law enforcement officers with Covington County Sheriff’s Department had been seeking the man since an April 2006 desecration of a gravestone in Covington County.

Gregory Dean Smith Sr., 47, was arrested Saturday on the charge of desecration of a venerated object and booked into the Covington County Jail on a $3,000 bond.

Smith has since been released after posting bail, but he faces up to a year in jail for the misdemeanor charge.

According to Covington County Sheriff, Dennis Meeks, on April 15, 2006, the Covington County Sheriff's Office received a report of criminal mischief at the Babbie Cemetery, located between Opp, Alabama and Andalusia, Alabama.

Sheriff’s office investigator Wesley Snodgrass says family members had discovered the tombstone, which had been knocked over and spray-painted with the suspect’s first name.

"Upon investigation by the CCSO, the suspect was identified as Gregory Dean Smith Sr.," says Snodgrass.

According to law enforcement in Covington County, after the initial report was filed, Smith was involved in a traffic collision and was hospitalized.

Snodgrass says he interviewed Smith after he was released from the hospital and says, "He confessed that he caused the damage to the headstone while intoxicated. I advised Mr. Smith that I would obtain a warrant for his actions and that he would need to turn himself in.”

The Sheriff’s Department says the suspect was not arrested at the time of the interview due to his physical condition after the traffic accident.

Snodgrass reports Smith left the state and went to Milton,” One of our patrol deputies gathered information about his location.”

The Covington County Sheriff’s Department contacted the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department regarding the outstanding warrant for Smith.

According to information obtained from the Santa Rosa Clerk of Court’s office, an arrest was processed on July 28 for Smith’s arrest on charges of being a fugitive from justice.

Snodgrass says Smith waived extradition and was transported to the Covington County Jail where he was charged with “desecration of a venerated object.”

According to the Covington County Sheriff’s Department, a venerated object is anything that is a monument, whether public or private, that is dedicated to someone who has passed on, or to a city, country or group or people such as a memorial to veterans of war.

The Santa Rosa County Clerk’s case database online reports the arrest occurred on July 28 in Santa Rosa County. This is the date Smith was taken into custody by the Sheriff’s Department; however, the Covington County Sheriff’s Department says it is using the date Smith was booked into the Covington County jail as the official arrest date for the charges stemming from the gravesite vandalism.