DALLAS — A Mesquite man has been charged in connection with the theft of eight bronze plaques stolen from Dallas’ historic Freedman’s Cemetery, a site honoring some of the city’s earliest Black residents.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by WFAA, Troy Vela Springer was identified by Dallas police detectives as the suspect seen in surveillance video loading the eight stolen plaques into an Acura SUV. The plaques, which include historical markers, poems, and maps, were reported missing after an early morning break-in at the cemetery on Oct. 1.
Springer was captured on surveillance video entering the cemetery with an unknown accomplice around 12:13 a.m., the affidavit states. After stealing the plaques, the two suspects were seen entering the Acura, which was parked on Calvary Street, next to the cemetery, and took off westbound towards Hall St…