Laredo man carves his name on Alamo wall

By Scott Huddleston
Staff Writer

Alamo officials credited a female tour guide and a security officer at the historic site with catching a 22-year-old Laredo man before he finished carving his name into a 250-year-old interior limestone wall of the state shrine late Thursday.

Julio Perez was charged with criminal mischief and placed in jail on a $20,000 bond, San Antonio police officials said.

According to a police report, the tour guide saw the man carving “Julio” into a buttress wall of the Monk’s Burial Room, a side room in the Alamo’s mission church, and told him to stop. At a news conference today, Alamo officials said the man and a female with him attempted to flee through the rear door. An Alamo Ranger caught him, placed him in handcuffs and contacted police.

“Desecration of any part of these hallowed grounds, especially the walls of the Alamo chapel, will not be tolerated. And we will support prosecution to the furthest extent of the law,” Alamo Rangers Chief Mark Adkins said at the news conference at the historic site.

The room has been temporarily closed to the public until preservation experts can study the damage and determine what repairs can be made.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/laredo-man-charged-in-alamo-desecration/ar-AAdX9oB?ocid=HPCDHP

(Three years ago, a young woman was fired from her job after yelling at and giving the finger to a sign asking for silence and respect at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. We hope Mr. Perez has the same punishment, plus a fine and a few hundred hours of community service.)