CANTON -- A Georgia man and his estranged wife have been charged with stealing more than $20,000 worth of bronze vases from three cemeteries to sell as scrap metal at an Athens recycling center.

Franklin County Sheriff Steve Thomas said 40-year-old Johnny Ray Banks and 40-year-old Tina Lynn Jackson were charged with three counts of felony theft. A judge set bond Monday for both at $16,500.

The thefts struck two cemeteries in Royston and one in Canton. Thomas said the thieves grabbed more than 70 vases, dumped the flower arrangements and then took off.

Investigators say the names of the suspects surfaced in an anonymous call to the sheriff's department tip line, and then residents reported seeing the two in the area.