A rash of stolen Christmas decorations has plagued a South Bay neighborhood this week, and though the police are not seeing a trend, the items reported missing all appear to be Disney related.
Some residents in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose say thieves are swiping decorations from their front lawns in the middle of the night. They believe the suspects are looking for Disney-themed decorations in particular.
One man has even gone as far as nailing his decorations to a fence.
Surveillance video shows one of the thefts that occurred over a 24-hour period in and around Willow Glen. The victim said several Disney lawn items were stolen from his home on Gavota Avenue. The thief used clippers to free the items from zip ties.
"Well, it seems as if we have an actual Christmas grinch in our neighborhood," resident Adam Martinez said.
Early Monday morning, Martinez's light-up Mickey and Minnie Mouse display was stolen off his front lawn. He posted his outrage to Facebook and found several others just like him.
"Willow Glen residents, and I'm sure a lot of other San Jose residents, are getting a little tired of the whole thing," Martinez said, adding a reminder to thieves that they are stealing not only from a house, but also from a family.
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Jim Barros's lifesize Disney decorations also were snatched.
"It is kind of frustrating," he said. "You don't expect something like this at this time of year."
San Jose police haven't seen an increase in these crimes yet but have asked the public to report the thieves.
Victims say the Disney decorations are more expensive and harder to find. They say they won’t let the Chrismtas grinches dampen their spirit.
"To be honest with you, if somebody really needed it, and they would have come to the door and asked me for (the decorations), I would have gladly given them to them," Barrios said. "You didn't have to steal them."
