Bowman Man Arrested for Attempted Grave Robbing
In a Facebook post, the Bowman Police Department reported that a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to exhume a decades-old marked gravesite at the Bowman Cemetery.
The incident was reported to the authorities on the morning of Easter Sunday, by family members who found evidence of a five-foot-long and three-foot-wide hole that had been dug approximately a foot deep into the grave.
Upon investigation, a city officer was called to assist the Bowman Officer, and hand tools were found at the scene along with missing objects that had been placed at the gravesite. The police established a suspect early on and collected sufficient evidence to tie the suspect to the crime. The suspect was identified as Anthony Partida-Breen, a 38-year-old resident of Bowman.
After being interviewed by Bowman Police Officers, Partida-Breen was placed under arrest on April, 10th, on a class C felony charge under North Dakota law of Protection of human burial sites, human remains, and burial goods. He was transported to the Dickinson Southwest correctional facility on the same date and is being held on a No Bond for this offense.
Out of respect for the family of the deceased, their names have not been released by the authorities to safeguard their privacy over this shocking event.