Man Arrested In Bensalem For Allegedly Burning Flags And Other Items From Veterans' Gravesites
BENSALEM, Pa. (CBS) – Some shocking news on Veterans Day.
Police have announced the arrest of a Feasterville man for allegedly burning gravesite American flags and other items removed from veterans' graves.
Anthony Davis Carter, 29, is accused of five incidents that took place on the property of Roosevelt Memorial Park at 2701 Old Lincoln Highway and Rosedale Memorial Park at 3850 Richlieu Road.
In all of the incidents, gravesite American flags, veteran flag holders and gravesite décor was removed from gravesites, placed on a pile and then burned.
Family of the deceased veterans say they're happy there has been an arrest, but they can't understand why someone would commit the crimes in the first place.
"Why? That's the question," says veteran Tom Gait. "Why would someone do that in any cemetery?"
Three months ago, Gait discovered the flags had been burned and items destroyed inside the cemetery.
"American flags [had] been burned, as well as damage to some of the monuments in the cemetery and other gravemarkers," echos Fred Harran, Bensalem's public safety director.
Now, flags have been replaced and gravemarkers restored, and veteran Patrick Jones says his loved ones can now rest in peace.
"There's people buried there, veterans, that you know, sacrificed their lives and over the years, probably carried a lot of nightmares with them," Jones says. "To have that [vandalism] happen, it's unreal."
Bensalem police say they linked Carter to the crimes through a DNA database and analysis of evidence recovered at the scene. He is charged with institutional vandalism, arson, and related offenses.
"I'm glad that this happened on Veterans Day, that we were able to make a closure," Harran added.
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