SAN ANGELO, Texas — San Angelo Police Department Sgt. Tim Coffman says the department has recently been receiving reports of theft and vandalism of people’s Christmas decorations.
These thefts and vandalisms aren’t just happening at people’s homes, but even at the Concho Christmas Celebration's displays.
Just outside of West Texas in Kyle, two teens were charged with felony criminal mischief after vandalizing a home.
In San Angelo's Southland Hills area, a mother says she was woken up early in the morning to loud noises in her front yard, which turned out to be vandals.
“I was woken up to a loud noise on Dec. 22 early in the morning. The first thing I did was check up on my kids. Once I saw they were fine, I went to our home surveillance cameras and saw what happened. I was shocked,” vandalism victim Leti Reyes Mata said.
What was captured on video was a group of at least three people rushing to the side of her front yard and poking large holes in her inflatable decorations. She reported the incident to SAPD and also took to Facebook to raise awareness of the issue.
“I have a two-year-old and a five-year-old. I decided not to tell them exactly what happened because I didn’t want to worry them and more importantly ruin their Christmas. With the way the world is today I wish only the best for the people who did this, but I’d hate for other children to wake up to this.” Mata continued.
While you cannot predict when someone will commit a crime, Coffman said the community can still help each other ahead of time to possibly prevent things like this from happening again.
“If it looks suspicious to you, give us a call and let us check it out. If you see a crime in progress, dial 9-11 so we can get officers out there as quickly as possible and try and prevent somebody's holiday from being ruined," Coffman said.
So far, no arrests have been made pertaining to Mata’s case of vandalism, but in her opinion, if neighbors continue to be watchful and mindful of their surroundings, it will help crack down on the issue.