PORTLAND, Ore. — The holiday Grinches are out early this year: Thieves hit a shop over the weekend and stole rare Christmas decorations and several Christmas trees, too. The owner was out thousands of dollars, but thankfully, he found support with his friends and community.
Now, Justin Waddell of Bloke Botanical has his possessions back. The Portland Police Bureau confirmed the decorations' recovery Thursday evening.
Walk through Bloke Botanical in North Portland, and you’ll see most of the shelves are empty right now. It was early Sunday morning when two people broke into Justin Waddell’s shop and stole just about everything they could find — even stealing several Christmas trees.
Waddell added that they knew what they were doing and what they were looking for. One of the most expensive items the thieves grabbed were nearly 30 different plastic Santa decorations. Some of them so expensive and rare they were valued at nearly a thousand dollars a piece. The owner believes whomever was behind this break-in has been planning it for a while.
Waddell said there are two men on surveillance video, and says they were in and out in about 15 minutes. Stealing close to ten thousand dollars' worth of Christmas decorations.
“I pulled up and the whole front of the store is a mess, the ornaments are broken plants are tossed everywhere and I’m like, 'This isn’t quite correct,' and I open up the store and everything is gone,” said Waddell.
Even though he’s out thousands of dollars, he’s not going to let this break-in dampen his holiday spirits, especially with the support he’s been receiving.
“This community showed up; it’s uncomfortable to receive support, but this is a time when we actually need it,” Waddell said.