FOX31 Denver

Man sentenced for theft of bronze plaques from Denver’s MLK Jr. memorial

By Heather Willard,

23 hours ago

DENVER ( KDVR ) — A man who turned himself in for stealing bronze artworks from the Martin Luther King Jr. monument in City Park was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty, according to court records.

Robert Duran, 47, turned himself in on Thursday, Feb. 29, according to the Denver Police Department. Investigators said Duran assisted with damaging one of the stolen metal pieces and was arrested for one count of criminal mischief of $20,000-$99,999.

The other suspect in this case, Herman Duran, 68, was arrested 10 days after Robert turned himself in to police. Herman was released on a $300 cash-only bond on May 15 and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 7 for arraignment. He is facing two charges: Criminal mischief of $20,000-$100,000, and theft of $20,000-$100,000.

Police began looking for the Durans in February after damage was found to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in City Park, and further damage to the Thatcher Memorial fountain, also in City Park. Denver police said the artworks were likely stolen and sold as scrap metal, and didn’t believe the thefts were bias-motivated crimes.

A monument to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Denver was vandalized. A torch on the side of the statue was removed.
A monument to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Denver was vandalized. A plaque detailing the history of slavery heading into the Civil War was stolen. Another panel that is still intact depicts the Civil War to Civil Rights period.
A torch on the side of the statue was removed.
A monument to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Denver was vandalized. A plaque detailing the history of slavery heading into the Civil War was stolen. Another panel depicts the Civil War to Civil Rights period.

The MLK Jr. monument was installed in 2002 and features several civil rights leaders, including Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass, Mahatma Gandhi and Sojourner Truth. The bronze plaque was completely removed, along with pieces of marble from the monument, and repairs were expected to cost at least $100,000 before some of the pieces were recovered.

A fundraiser to repair the statue was launched by former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and his wife, former state Rep. Wilma Webb. The fundraiser has raised over $12,000 to repair the memorial.

Recycling workers who used ScrapTheftAlert.com helped police identify and recover some of the artworks sold as scrap metal.

On Friday, Robert pleaded guilty to the single criminal charge, which is a felony, and received a two-year deferred sentence. He will be required to pay $69,900 in restitution for the stolen artwork and damage to the memorial.

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Man sentenced for theft of bronze plaques from Denver’s MLK Jr. memorial

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