A grieving man who left flowers at his fiancée’s grave was arrested last month and charged with criminal littering.
According to WRBL, a trial date has been set in March for Winchester Hagans, who is accused of leaving a planter box at his fiancée, Hannah Ford’s gravesite at Memorial Park Cemetery in Auburn.
The planter box was decorated with photos of Hagans and Ford together during happier times.
Ford, 27, was killed in a three-vehicle crash on January 17, 2021, a month after she got engaged to Hagans.
Hagans told WTVM-TV that he left the planter box at Ford’s gravesite because she preferred live flowers over cut ones. Hagans said the city told him he was allowed to place the planter box at Ford’s grave — as long as her family didn’t complain.
The family complained to the Auburn Police Department, and Hagans learned about his arrest warrant when he was pulled over during a traffic stop for an expired tag.
“[They] handcuffed me on the side of the road on a Sunday morning,” he told WRBL.
The media outlet obtained a copy of the criminal complaint — which was signed by Ford’s father. Hagans said he and Ford’s family had a “tense relationship” and that someone kept throwing away the cut flowers he left at her gravesite.
The Auburn PD released a statement following the public uproar.
“The police department is simply a process server that allows parties in conflict to be before the court,” the statement read. “The facts of the case will be presented by both parties and weighed in Court.”
Hagans has pleaded not guilty to littering. He told WRBL, “I just want to be able to put flowers on her grave.”
