COPS CORNER: Thieves steal Christmas trees, potatoes

Palm Coast Observer
Cops Corner

Dec. 2

Thieves steals Christmas trees, potatoes

7:15 a.m. 3200 block of County Road 305. Commercial burglary: Someone broke into a warehouse at a local produce business and stole 30 Christmas trees worth a combined $825, according to a Flagler County Sheriff's Office report. A manager told deputies that he'd locked the business at 6 p.m. Dec. 1, then arrived at 7 a.m. the next day to find the warehouse's door open and the padlock that had secured it cut. The trees were about 6 feet tall. A couple of days later, thieves targeted the same location again — this time stealing about $1,000 worth of white potatoes from a cooler, as well as seven trees worth a combined $192. "Potatoes were strewn all over the ground and loading dock area," a deputy wrote in a Dec. 4 case report. Again, the thief or thieves had cut the padlocks on the doors.

Nov. 30

Miscreant pours sugar into local's gas tank

3:30 p.m.100 block of Palm Harbor Parkway. Criminal mischief: A 34-year-old local woman parked her mother's Nissan Rogue at European Village, where the woman lived, and walked out later to discover all four tires had been slashed. When she opened the gas cap, she noticed a "grainy substance" — sugar, which can cause an engine to seize up when it's mixed with gas. A deputy checked with a mechanic who said that fixing the tank would cost about $500, according to a Sheriff's Office report. The tires cost about $258 combined.