Report: Man Accused of Stealing $3K Gold-Plated Rose from NYC Church’s 9/11 Memorial Laughs in Court

A 21-year-old man who allegedly stole an expensive item from a New York City church’s 9/11 memorial apparently thought it was funny.

Deikel Alcantara is accused of stealing a $3,000 gold-plated rose from the memorial inside the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street, the New York Post reported Sunday.

The suspect apparently laughed through his arraignment on Saturday as prosecutors shared details of his alleged crime spree over the past month. The Post article said Alcantara was fidgeting, smiling, and laughing while in the courtroom.

Judge Simiyon Haniff told him, “I don’t know if you think this is funny but they’re about to ask for bail.”

“Let the record reflect that this defendant has been laughing for the whole time. This is a big joke to him, that’s what this is. This is a big joke for you, right?” Haniff added.

An image shows the suspect and the gold rose, which authorities have not found:

Police said Alcantara attacked an elderly person on October 24 with a metal pipe, which injured the victim’s arm. For that incident, the suspect faces second degree assault charges. In addition, he has another misdemeanor but the Post said there were no details on that case.

Alcantara’s father turned him in to law enforcement Friday after the rose went missing, the Post reported.

“The memorial at the West 31st Street house of worship honors all the lives lost in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, particularly Rev. Mychal Judge, who was the pastor at St. Francis of Assisi and an FDNY Chaplain,” the outlet said.

Photos show the outside of the church and the rose placed on the memorial:

Once he was turned in, Alcantara was held on $75,000 bail and charged with a single count of grand larceny.

The church’s website said it is “a unique Franciscan community in the heart of New York City.”