Cops: War memorial flag thief suspect claimed he needed new curtains

Police in a Pennsylvania town have caught a man suspected of stealing flags from several locations, including a recently restored war memorial. And the man, police say, has a puzzling excuse. 

Raymond Jaquay is accused of stealing U.S. and POW/MIA flags from sites in western Pennsylvania including Brackenridge Memorial Park, and a Marine Corps flag from an ice cream shop in Tarentum, according to CBS Pittsburgh. Police identified Jaquay through surveillance video from a nearby business and arrested him on June 2.

When officers went to his home, they found the flags. When asked why he stole the flags, police say Jaquay told them a curtain rod in his home broke and he needed something to cover his windows, CBS Pittsburgh reports.

Jaquay has since apologized and returned all of the flags.

The Brackenridge community spent years raising money to restore the war memorial and on Memorial Day, residents held a special rededication ceremony. Shortly after the ceremony, the flags went missing.

“We’ll just keep on raising it. Hopefully, nobody takes it back down again,” Cmdr. Frank Svitek, of the Brackenridge American Legion Post, said of the flag. “Show some respect for the veterans.”

Although none of the victims wanted to press charges, Jaquay will still face a summary charge of disorderly conduct, according to CBS Pittsburgh.