June 20, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
A man arrested for burglarizing a Love- Cantrell Funeral Home van while a chapel memorial service was in progress appeared for sentencing Tuesday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
41 year old Ernest R. Mashburn Jr. entered a plea by criminal information to auto burglary and theft over $1,000. He received a 2 year sentence in each case to run consecutively for a total of 4 years. He will be on TDOC probation. Mashburn was given jail credit from April 19 to June 18, 2019.
The case against a co-defendant 28 year old Heather L. Standridge remains pending in court.
Police were called to Love-Cantrell Funeral Home April 19 in reference to a theft. Upon arrival the officer noticed that someone had scattered items around inside a van belonging to the funeral home. The owner informed the officer that witnesses spotted a man (Mashburn) suspiciously walking around the backside of the funeral home where the van was parked. Video surveillance from the funeral home showed a man (Mashburn) and a woman (Standridge) entering the van and taking items out of it. Police later located the couple walking in front of Omega Apparel and placed them in custody.
Police recovered items taken from the van including a Ruger 22 handgun, Oakley sunglasses, key fob, radio remote, touch screen radio, FM transmitter, cassette adapter, 2XL US shirts, headphones, phone chargers, cold weather face mask, and 2 packs of baseball cards. The total value of the stolen items was $2,280.