SAN DIEGO -- A man accused of stealing 300 bronze or brass vases and grave markers from four San Diego cemeteries, and selling the stolen items at a recycling center for cash, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to three felony charges.

Jack David Prell, 52, is charged with removing property from a cemetery, grand theft and receiving stolen property, said Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel.

More charges are anticipated, the prosecutor said.

If convicted as charged, Prell faces up to 10 years and six months in prison, Vasel said.

The prosecutor told Judge David Szumowski that a caretaker at Holy Cross Cemetery allegedly observed Prell loading stolen vases and markers into his car.

Prell ran a sophisticated scheme in which he stole items from Holy Cross, Singing Hills, Greenwood and El Camino cemeteries on at least 20 occasions and took the items to a recycling center for cash, the prosecutor alleged.

The losses so far have been estimated at $60,000, Vasel said.

She said Prell has 14 mostly theft-related felony convictions dating back to 1973 and nine failures to appear in court.

Deputy Public Defender Paul Rodriguez told the judge that Prell, whose bail was set at $100,000, worked as an electrician and lived with his mother.

Szumowski scheduled a status conference for next Wednesday and a preliminary hearing for Sept. 6.