Gang members snort ashes they mistook for drugs

20 Jan 2011
By Gaby Leslie, Yahoo! News

Five teenage burglars snorted human and animal ashes after mistaking them for Class A drugs, it has been revealed.

After a burglary, which took place at a woman's home in Silver Spring Shores, Florida, thieves made off with electronics, jewelry and two urns - one filled with the cremated remains of the victim's father and two for her Great Danes.

Police discovered what happened to the stolen ashes after the suspects were arrested last week in connection with another attempted burglary.

In a statement, deputies from Marion County Sheriff's Office said: "The suspects mistook the ashes for either cocaine or heroin. It was soon discovered that the suspects snorted some of the ashes believing they were snorting cocaine."

Speaking after the burglary, which took place in December, grieving victim Holli Tencza, 35, told a local Ocala news site: "I understand why the burglar took my flat-screen television, the Blu-ray DVD player, laptop computer and jewelry… but there's no monetary value in the ashes, so who knows in this crazy world. I just want them back. I don't care if I ever know who took them."

When the gang members discovered their mix-up they threw the remaining ashes into a lake in fear that their fingerprints were left on the urns.

Marion County Sheriff, Jenifer Fisher Lowe told Yahoo! News: "On Thursday at 11AM EST, underwater divers at Magic Lake in Gail d'Helvie Park recovered two urns containing the ashes of the owner's dog and father."

The ashes were protected by plastic bags inside wooden boxes stored in the urns. The delinquents have been jailed on a number of charges, including burglary.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/38/20110120/tod-gang-snorts-ashes-they-mistook-for-d-045b8e8.html