In one of the stupidest Florida crime stories in recent memory (which is really saying something), three teens broke into a Silver Spring Shores home and found the cremated remains of the owner's father and two pet Great Danes. Thinking they were some sort of drug, the teens decided to snort ashes.
Now, one of the men involved, Jose David Diaz-Marrero, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the crime.
Diaz-Marrero, now 20, and two of his friends, Waldo Soroa, 21, and Matrix Andaluz, 19, broke into the home of Holli Tencza back in late 2010. They stole some jewelry, a laptop, a DVD player and a 42-inch flat-screen television, and, oh yeah, the three urns.
The trio thought the urns contained crushed pills, and decided to snort and taste the contents. They had no idea they were actually ashes until they read local news reports about the urns being stolen.
Diaz-Marrero pleaded guilty to the crime back in June. "I recognize that I've made a big mistake," he said in court according to The Ocala Star-Banner.
He received eight years in prison, and after that he'll receive six years of probation and will be ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution. Andaluz has previously been sentenced to nine years in prison, with 12 years of probation. Soroa's case is still pending.
Authorities were able to recover the ashes of the victim's father and one of the Great Danes and the father in a lake. The ashes of the other dog had been accidentally thrown out by someone who thought they were a bag of concrete.
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