A man and a woman ran afoul of the law when they were caught having sex on a grave in a local cemetery which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A trooper with a K-9 stopped to give the dog a rest break at about 4 p.m. Thursday near the Wild Cow Prairie Cemetery off Interstate 75 near Webster in Sumter County, according to an arrest report from the Florida Highway Patrol. The trooper spotted a white Nissan parked in front of the cemetery with the windows down and no one in the immediate area.
Other troopers, who were also present, “observed a white male and female at the rear of the cemetery engaged in sexual activity on top of unknown grave #43.” The troopers approached the couple who went back to their vehicle to “obtain clothing.”
A search of their vehicle turned up a purse, which belonged to the woman, identified as 46-year-old Stephanie Wegman of Webster. The purse contained two pills bottles. One held 13 Alprazolam pills and the other contained 20 Oxycodone pills. Wegman, who has a prior criminal history, did not have a prescription for the pills. She was arrested on several drug charges and booked without bond at the Sumter County Detention Center.
The man, who had suffered a leg injury, was transported to Dade City Hospital. The report indicated a warrant will be sought for his arrest.
Among those buried at Wild Cow Prairie Cemetery are at least eight veterans and 19th Century county commissioners James Weeks and Charles Littleberry Branch. Residents of Pemberton Ferry along the Withalachochee River also were buried there. Pemberton Ferry now is a ghost town that disappeared in the 1930s. The area was on a well-traveled 19th Century stagecoach route, linking Adamsville with Brooksville in Citrus County. Former slaves are also believed to have been buried in the cemetery, which had been neglected for years, but was recently restored thanks to volunteer efforts.