City ordinance requirements help catch Travis Park thief, SAPD says

Man allegedly provides buyer with personal info while selling stolen plaque

SAN ANTONIO – A city ordinance requiring recycling companies to keep strict records of purchases of certain items has helped solve the case of a commemorative bronze plaque stolen from Travis Park with the names of past City Council members engraved on it, San Antonio police said. 

There is no word on exactly when the alleged theft happened, but police began investigating in March when 51-year-old Marco Anthony Garcia sold it to a recycling company as scrap metal.

The city considers the plaque "regulated metal." An ordinance requires the seller to provide the buyer with a thumbprint, a digital photo of the item, a digital photo of the seller and proof of a valid ID. The salvage yard is also required to write down the license plate of the vehicle in which the seller arrived.

Police said the owner of the recycling shop handed Garcia’s information over to police, which led them to the suspect.

Even though Garcia faces criminal charges, its taxpayers who will also suffer. District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino sent KSAT the following statement:

"Such acts of vandalism, while rare, can be frustrating to deal with as our tax dollars are then used to replace meaningful items like this plaque or clean graffiti off of our beautiful missions."

Some taxpayers KSAT spoke to were upset after learning about that. 

"I don't think its fair," resident Mariana Guerrero said. “I think we can use that money for something more useful.”

“That's sad because, as hardworking people and as taxpayers, we go out of our way every day to make sure we make an honest living, and someone just comes and takes it," resident Tracy King said. "We have very high living expenses. We have to pay those bills, so every penny counts.”


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