A security guard accused of stealing from the Sixth Floor Museum says he is being framed for a crime he didn't commit.
Patrick Bernard Cleveland was arrested last Friday in connection with a thwarted burglary of the museum. But Cleveland said he was asleep in Grand Prairie at the time investigators said the theft took place, DallasNews.com reports.
"Someone's trying to frame me," Cleveland told the paper. "The detective said, 'I can place you downtown.' He tried to make me scared. He tried to make me admit to something that I didn't do."
According to the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, Cleveland worked for Platinum Security, which provided security services for the museum.
Detectives said they obtained information that linked Cleveland to the offense, and the investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are likely. Cleveland has bonded out of jail.
THE BURGLARY
Last Tuesday, police said two men tried to steal a safe from The Sixth Floor Museum and that a Dallas County security officer foiled the robbery.
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The officer spotted an old pickup truck leaving the rear of the building with a safe dangling from a winch in the bed of the truck. The officer attempted to stop the driver, who then drove at the officer, police said. The security officer pulled his gun and opened fire, causing the driver to truck to crash into the curb, disabling the vehicle in the process. Two men then fled the scene on foot.
The Sixth Floor Museum, which chronicles the final days and assassination of President John F. Kennedy, is located at the old Texas School Book Depository building in downtown Dallas. The museum's spokesperson, Deborah Marine, said after the burglary that all of the museum's collections and artifacts were safe and secure.
