(La Porte, IN) - Teenagers fleeing from police caused damage at a La Porte graveyard last night. 

According to La Porte Police, an officer at about 10 p.m. spotted a vehicle with its headlights on in a secluded part of Patton Cemetery.  The headlights on the vehicle were then shut off, which raised the officer’s suspicions. 

Police said the officer approached when the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed through the cemetery running over flat tombstones along the way.  A number of flower pots above tombstones and other decorative items were also destroyed.

The vehicle, covered in dirt and flowers, was eventually stopped and four juveniles were taken into custody, police said.  Police said they recovered marijuana, smoking pipes, and other forms of drug paraphernalia from the vehicle.  The vehicle also had the odor of marijuana present when they were stopped by Police. 

La Porte Police Chief Paul Brettin said a caretaker of the cemetery will be called to determine the full extent of the damage.  Some of the damage was likely overlooked since it was dark when the vehicle fled.