A Gainesville man allegedly drove a stolen truck directly at a Hall County Sheriff's Office patrol vehicle before he was arrested Saturday for the August theft of several statues from Memorial Park Cemetery.
Warrants were first issued for the arrest of Santiago Morales Villalobos, 24, on Aug. 30, for the theft of the statues, according to B.J. Williams, public information officer with the sheriff's office. Villalobos remained at large until early Saturday morning when deputies received a notification that a stolen Ford F-150 had been located at the entrance to Amberleigh Trace subdivision on Poplar Springs Road.
When deputies arrived at the scene, Villalobos reportedly drove the stolen truck directly at one of the patrol vehicles, causing the deputy to swerve to avoid a collision. Villalobos then sped away to Willow Ridge subdivision. Deputies found the truck at a home in the subdivision. They later found Villalobos inside the home following a search.
Villalobos was charged with felony aggravated assault on a peace officer in connection with the incident Saturday, along with six misdemeanor traffic violations. He was also charged with theft by receiving stolen property for the theft of the truck. He faces theft by taking charges for the theft of the statues in August.
He remained in the Hall County Jail without bond as of Monday.
A second suspect in the cemetery thefts had previously been arrested on Sept. 13. Abigail Magdalena Reyes, 25, was charged with theft by receiving. Reyes later posted bond.
"We don't believe she actually was in the cemetery stealing the statues, but we do believe that she was involved with the sale of those stolen statues to scrapyards in the area," Williams said.
