An Oakland family is looking for answers after thieves stole their entire holiday inflatable setup from their front lawn in Oakland.
“It’s just really disappointing to even have to talk about this during the holidays,” said homeowner Omar Farmer.
Farmer said it’s one of the perks of owning a home with a big yard is that he can go all out for the holidays.
He has done for the last ten years in Oakland with his 17-foot-tall nutcracker and his Snoopy fireplace that shines at night.
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“So many people are used to coming by here and seeing the decorations,” Farmer said.
Farmer is a member of the city’s Public Safety and Services Violence Prevention Oversight Commission.
On Tuesday night, Farmer had logged off a virtual meeting to talk about ways to fix wait times for 911 calls when around 11:30 PM, he said a neighbor saw the part of the incident.
“Two people in a red or maroon minivan double parked in front of my home and stole my two inflatables,” he said.
Farmer didn’t call police to report the theft. Instead, he’s extending an olive branch to the thieves.
“I would even offer a restorative justice approach if they decided to return the items and do an apology note and we can have a discussion about it,” he said.
After Farmer posted the reason for his barren lawn on the Next Door app, neighbors have pitched in to help decorate his empty lawn.
“What’s really warmed my heart is how people have rallied around me,” he said.
Early Monday, the Oakland Fire Department says at least one arsonist set fire to the Jack London Square Christmas tree.
Firefighters got there in time to save most of it, only 15% of the tree burned. And according to the Jack London Square’s Facebook page, the holiday tree lighting show on Saturday is still on.
“The only way to stop something like this from occurring in the future is to address the root cause of it,” Farmer said.
