California IN BRIEF : LOS ANGELES : 2 Held in Vandalism at Jewish Cemeteries

Two suspected neo-Nazis were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of vandalizing Los Angeles Jewish cemeteries and unearthing and stealing at least one skull, Burbank police said. Acting on a tip, police arrested Jacob Luis Rupe, 20, and Craig Matthew Lax, 21, both of Burbank, after searching an apartment about 3 p.m., Lt. Larry Dow said. Police believe Rupe and Lax broke into several cemeteries and temples in Los Angeles, committing vandalism and grave robbery, Dow said. When police searched the apartment they found a sign from a temple, a Holocaust memorial sign from a cemetery and a human skull, Dow said. Both men, whom police are investigating as members of a neo-Nazi group, were booked on suspicion of theft and held at a Burbank jail, Dow said. In 1994, Glendale’s sole temple was coated with bright orange swastikas, days after its rabbi helped draw up a plan for fighting hate crimes. No arrests have been made in that case.