--- description: A woman who owns a flower shop has been accused of stealing plants and other times from graves in a New Jersey cemetery title: New Jersey Flower Shop Owner Accused of Stealing Plants From a Cemetery image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3645c2584db2e8b1/6988cb3afb4eacc201891c29/lynda-wingate.png?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New Jersey Flower Shop Owner Accused of Stealing Plants From a Cemetery by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 28, 2017 6:47 PM CUT  Lynda Wingate Lynda WingatePequannock Police Department by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 28, 2017 6:47 PM CUT A woman who owns a flower shop has been accused of stealing plants and other items from graves in a New Jersey [cemetery](http://time.com/4689614/new-york-jewish-cemetery-vandalism-investigation/ "undefined"). Police said 59-year-old Lynda Wingate of Riverdale N.J. has been charged with theft of movable property, [according to the Associated Press. ](https://www.yahoo.com/news/flower-shop-owner-accused-stealing-plants-cemetery-170459030.html?soc%5Fsrc=hl-viewer&soc%5Ftrk=tw "undefined") Capt. Christopher DePuyt of the Pequannock Township police department said surveillance cameras were initially installed around the First Reformed Church Cemetery following the disappearance of two plants that were replacements for other plants that had been stolen, the AP reports. The camera footage revealed Wingate in a minivan taking the plants. She was identified by officers as she had served as a police dispatcher before owning her flower shop. DePuyt said Wingate claimed she was clearing off old flowers from graves of people she had known, according to the AP. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4759908/pequannock-flower-shop-cemetery-graves/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4759908/pequannock-flower-shop-cemetery-graves/"},"headline":"New Jersey Flower Shop Owner Accused of Stealing Plants From a Cemetery","datePublished":"2017-04-28T18:47:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:39:53.078Z","description":"Surveillance cameras caught her in the act","url":"https://time.com/4759908/pequannock-flower-shop-cemetery-graves/","keywords":["New Jersey","Crime","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3645c2584db2e8b1/6988cb3afb4eacc201891c29/lynda-wingate.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3645c2584db2e8b1/6988cb3afb4eacc201891c29/lynda-wingate.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lynda-Wingate","caption":"Lynda Wingate","creditText":"Pequannock Police Department","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4759908/pequannock-flower-shop-cemetery-graves/","name":"New Jersey Flower Shop Owner Accused of Stealing Plants From a Cemetery"}}]}] ```