A man broke into the Dallas Museum of Art and may have caused more than $5.1 million in damage before being arrested on June 1.
Brian Hernandez, 21, allegedly used a metal chair to smash the glass at the building’s front entrance around 9:40 p.m. Once inside, he reportedly destroyed multiple display cases housing valuable artworks and artifacts.
Surveillance footage shows Hernandez using a stool to smash open at least two display cases and destroying four rare cultural artifacts: a “Black-Figure Panel Amphora 6th Century Greece” pot, a “Red-Figure Pyxis 450 B.C.” pot, a sixth-century ceramic cup, “Kylix Herakles and Nemeon Lion,” and the Caddo statue “Batah Kuhuh Alligator Gar Fish.”
Police initially stated that the value of the four pieces totaled more than $5.1 million, and the display cases that housed them cost as much as $17,000 each. However, museum director Agustín Arteaga told The Dallas Morning News that “the real total could be a fraction of the original $5 million estimate.”
“While we are devastated by this incident, we are grateful that no one was harmed,” read a statement issued by DMA on June 2. “The safety of our staff and visitors, along with the care and protection of the art in our stewardship, are our utmost priorities.”
Dallas police arrested Hernandez and charged him with “criminal mischief of more than or equal to $300,000.”
According to the arrest warrant, two DMA guards found Hernandez after he had set off a motion detector. Hernandez allegedly explained, “he got mad at his girl, so he broke in and started destroying property.”
It was not immediately known if Hernandez had legal representation.