Family pleads with vandals to leave loved one’s grave alone

MONROE, N.C. — Danijaha Louallen said the month of December has been anything but joyful for her family.

They’ve been hit with multiple blows, she said. The latest happened this past weekend when her cousin Kyreese Barrino’s grave at Hillcrest Cemetery in Monroe was vandalized.

“It’s been a group of young men going around vandalizing our cousin’s grave. Urinating on it. Shooting at it. Scraping the words and the pictures off,” Louallen told Channel 9′s Eli Brand.

Officers with the Monroe Police Department said the suspects recorded themselves committing the crime and posted it to social media.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Vandals record themselves desecrating graves at local cemetery

“I just feel like they don’t really have a real reason to dislike my cousin or to treat him that way. So, it’s just lost souls really,” Louallen said.

Monroe police have charged 18-year-old Jaykob Marquez Bracey with felony desecrating a grave. They also said a juvenile was involved.

18-year-old wanted for vandalizing graves in Monroe, police say

Louallen said this is the third time her cousin’s grave has been desecrated since he was killed in Asheboro in 2021.

Earlier this month, Louallen’s family dealt with a separate tragedy when one of her other cousins, 12-year-old Messiah Barrino, was killed in another shooting in Monroe.

“We don’t know what to do. We don’t know how to feel,” Louallen said. Family members said the young boy was an innocent bystander.

Louallen said all these things happening at once have made her family fearful to mourn.

“We basically feel like we’re neglecting our cousin. We’re not even able to visit the gravesite because we don’t know who’s watching us or what could happen if we do go visit,” Louallen said.

Louallen said her family now hopes her older cousin’s gravestone can be repaired or replaced and he can be moved to a safer location.

(VIDEO: Park rangers report increase in vandalism on Blue Ridge Parkway)