Tustin faces replacing $40,000 in stolen veterans plaque, Orange and Huntington Beach had thefts, too

Three Orange County cities are figuring out how, and if, they can replace tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of memorial plaques stolen from around their communities in recent weeks.

Tustin leaders plan to replace five bronze plaques valued at about $40,000 that were stolen last month from the city’s veterans monument in time for Memorial Day weekend.

“With Tustin being a military community, this heritage is vital,” said Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard, calling it “a sad day” when someone would take from community monuments.

The custom-made plaques were stolen overnight Jan. 20. Among them was a plate from a time capsule buried when Veterans Sports Park first opened, another commemorating the park’s opening and three on the large monument dedicated to the U.S. Army, Navy and Coast Guard, according to the mayor.

The veterans monument, in the shape of a star with the large round plaques dedicated to each service branch at each point, still has the medallions for the Marine Corps and Air Force.

Similar thefts have occurred in Huntington Beach and Orange, including Old Towne Orange.

A Long Beach man has been charged with multiple felony counts of grand theft and vandalism in connection to thefts at the parks in Orange County and in Long Beach. The plaques have not been recovered and are believed to have been recycled before his arrest, the Tustin Police Department has said.

Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon said six bronze memorial plaques worth roughly $20,000 were also taken, calling it the “height of disrespect and disgrace.”

The stolen markers include several plaques honoring veterans, private family plaques and a lifeguards’ plaque erected on Huntington Beach Pier, he said.

Several veteran plaques stolen from the benches at Patriot Point will be replaced by the nonprofit Tee It Up For The Troops, McKeon said. The new memorials are being manufactured right now. A stolen plaque honoring lifeguard pioneer Vincent G. Moorhouse still needs replacing. And the plaques stolen from flagpoles at the pier are being replaced by the city, McKeon said.

In Orange, eight plaques worth roughly $34,000 were stolen, mostly from parks, including Eisenhower Park and Veterans Memorial Park. A few were also pried from “a couple of city walls in the downtown area,” Orange Police Lt. Mike Monjaraz said.

“These are historical plaques. Some have been here since 1953,” he said, referring to a commemorative plaque taken from Hart Park, the city’s oldest park, established in the mid-1930s.

He said the theft left bare a historical marker at the corner of West Almond and South Glassell streets. Several plaques had decorated that marker, erected in 1986 to mark Old Towne Orange’s official recognition in 1981 as a historic landmark.

Police worked with neighboring law enforcement agencies, relying on surveillance footage of several individuals caught on camera to make arrests, he said.

Lumbard said “fortunately” there was minimal damage to the concrete structures at the veterans memorial. He added he has explored grant options to help cover replacement costs, but so far, it appears the city will bear the expense.

“And yes,” Lumbard said, “we will get them installed before Memorial Day.”