A Florida man, Michael Gainer III, 21, was sentenced to nine months in jail after admitting to vandalizing and urinating on two graves in Jacksonville.
The graves belonged to cousins Darryl Lundy Jr., 17, and Dari’one Flanigan, 18, who are buried in Restlawn Cemeteries and Cremation Gardens, also known as Restlawn Memorial Park... Continue reading here ▶
Gainer was arrested in November after videos of him spitting, urinating, and damaging the graves were shared on his social media account. Screenshots from the videos were sent to the mothers of the deceased boys.
One of the mothers, who visited her son’s grave regularly, said the grave was fine during her visit on August 16. However, when Jacksonville police checked the site on August 19, they found the graves vandalized.
According to the arrest affidavit, one video showed Gainer using a large rock to damage the tombstone, spitting, and urinating on it. In another video, which was a livestream, he admitted to his actions, claiming he did it to provoke a response. Both mothers identified Gainer from a photo lineup, and the Instagram account that posted the videos was linked to him.
The two boys’ graves are next to each other. They died of gun violence three years apart—Flanigan in 2019 and Lundy in 2022—but their cases remain unsolved.
Local news reported that the graves have since been restored. Gainer initially pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of damaging graves but later changed his plea to guilty. On December 19, he was sentenced to nine months in jail, 42 months of probation, and 300 hours of community service, which he will spend cleaning graveyards.
