Stolen Ashes of Tempe Woman's Dead Husband Found and Returned, Tucson Man Arrested

mcso.org

Anthony Jessup Sr.

​

During a plea for the public's help Thursday, 76-year-old Dory remained confident in her hopes that the ashes of her husband, Grant Dory, would be returned. The next day, the ashes were found.

Tuscon native Anthony Jessup Sr. was arrested about 7:20 p.m. Friday after a Tempe police officer recognized his face during a traffic stop. The officer knew him as one of the two men who were caught by security cameras using Dory's stolen credit cards throughout Tempe and Mesa, according to Tempe police.

Police say the June 2 burglary was random and that the two men who used Dory's credit cards about 30 times were their main suspects.

While the 49-year-old didn't speak to officers during his arrest, Tempe Sergeant Steve Carbajal tells New Times, he did help investigators locate the urn. Grant Dory's ashes were still inside.

"Of course [Karen Dory] was very excited," Carbajal says. "She thanked Tempe police for their work in returning the urn. The media conference worked to a certain degree, but the officer was able to connect the dots. It had a lot to do with the officer doing good follow up work."

While Dory's other stolen items -- thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and other family heirlooms -- weren't found, police were able to return some of her husband's military ribbons. Grant Dory served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and the Vietnam War.

The two-month-long investigation continues as police are still looking for the other man seen in the surveillance footage using Dory's stole cards.

Jessup was booked into the Tempe City Jail on eight counts of forgery, eight counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, one count of credit card theft, and one count of identity theft. He also has prior convictions for forgery and drug paraphernalia.