Story Category: Crime and Punishment »

Former cemetery owner Larry Deffenbaugh entered the Calvert County Circuit Court hearing room Wednesday, Aug. 15 looking frail and sickly. When given his chance to speak he indicated he was a victim of life’s circumstances.

The presiding judge, however, sided with the state’s contention he was undeserving of clemency and ordered Deffenbaugh to finish out his sentence behind bars.

Deffenbaugh, 61, is the former owner of Southern Memorial Gardens in Dunkirk. In 2008, Deffenbaugh pled guilty to a single count of theft scheme over $500. An investigation by the Maryland State Police had concluded Deffenbaugh had bilked over 500 customers out of thousands of dollars for services promised but never delivered. Deffenbaugh subsequently entered an Alford Plea and was sentenced to 15 years. As part of the plea agreement, Deffenbaugh’s sentence was suspended and he was given five years of supervised probation. Judge William Missouri warned Deffenbaugh that any violation of probation would result in incarceration.

In May, 2009, Deffenbaugh was scheduled to appear in Calvert County Circuit Court for violation of probation. Deffenbaugh had failed to surrender a gun he allegedly owned to authorities. However, Deffenbaugh was missing and was the subject of a U.S. Coast Guard search in the waterways near Norfolk, VA. Deffenbaugh’s brother sent a distress signal to the Coast Guard that Larry Deffenbaugh had fallen off a fishing boat while at sea. It was a story authorities were skeptical of from the get-go.

In 2010, Deffenbaugh was located in Texas using the name Mike Myers. He was located after the Fox Television show “America’s Most Wanted” broadcast the story of his allegedly faking his own death.

Last September, a federal court in Norfolk found Deffenbaugh guilty of conspiracy and communicating a false distress signal to the Coast Guard. He was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.

During the Aug. 15 hearing, Deffenbaugh’s attorney, Mary Katharine Fowler, said her client was in “very fragile health,” adding he had heart problems that have nearly cost him his life. Fowler said Deffenbaugh “was a first-time offender” when he entered the Alford Plea in 2008 and signed a $1 million promissory note over to a trust fund for the defrauded cemetery customers.

“He is not a candidate for probation in any way, shape or form,” said Assistant State’s  Attorney Kathryn Marsh, who told Judge Graydon McKee III she still receives e-mails from victims of the theft scheme.

Deffenbaugh told the court it was his brother who made the bogus call to the Coast Guard. “I did not break the law by calling the Coast Guard,” he stated. “My brother continues to lie about that fact.”

As to what happened at Southern Memorial Gardens, Deffenbaugh said, “I was an absentee owner. I had no idea the situation was occurring. How this case got to be a criminal chase was beyond my wildest dreams. I am responsible for not watching the henhouse. I’m sorry anyone was hurt in any way.”

Deffenbaugh told McKee he went to Texas to try to find the man who had possession of the gun authorities wanted him to surrender. “They knew I did not have the gun, I gave the gun away,” he said. “This has become a Hollywood movie for no reason. I cannot believe the state wants to incarcerate me to my death. I’ve been a law-abiding citizen all my life. I’m asking you not to put me in double jeopardy here.”

Deffenbaugh told the court he is appealing his federal conviction.

The defendant was ordered to serve the remainder of his original sentence consecutively with his federal sentence.

About 20 of the over 500 victims of the cemetery scheme attended the hearing. A spokesperson indicated the group intends to write letters to the Maryland Parole Commission requesting Deffenbaugh not be granted parole but remain in prison to serve out his sentence.

Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com