Christmas tree Grinches caught trying to resell trees

UPDATE: A pair of Grinches who were caught on camera stealing 20 Christmas trees from a farm stand in Thurston County have been caught.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office posted the update to their Facebook page on Saturday, saying a citizen who saw the suspects trying to resell the trees reported them.

“The two grinches who attempted to steal Christmas from Jay's Tree Farm have been apprehended, and the trees have been returned to the owner. Thank you to the citizen who reported the suspicious subjects trying to resell the trees!”

Previous Coverage: 

A pair of Grinches got away with 20 Christmas trees from a farm stand in Thurston County.

Cameras captured the men stealing spruces and fir trees from Jay’s Farm Stand, a family-owned business that’s been in Olympia for 10 years.

“It’s actually quite shocking, someone with a Grinch attitude that [would]  just go and steal Christmas trees,” said customer Richard Beer.

Customers can’t believe it and neither can owner Eric Foshaug.

“It kind of puts a hole in my heart, like how would people steal Christmas trees?” he said. “I don’t mind if someone takes an apple or an orange from underneath the tents if they’re really starving and homeless, but, these guys, I know they’re just going to go somewhere and sell them for a couple hundred bucks to just kind of make some quick cash instead of getting real job.”

Foshaug said his Harrison Avenue Northwest business has been broken into before, but never like this.

Around 1 a.m. Wednesday, two men pulled into the parking lot in an older-style Chrysler minivan. They took nearly 20 trees, costing Jay’s Farm Stand close to $1,000 in sales.

It’s money that’s hard to make up.

“We live here. I’m the owner. I work here. I work here at six in the morning sometimes and I’m here six days a week, we’re here seven days a week, so, yeah, it hurts,” said Foshaug.

Olympia police said they’re upping patrols in the area. Foshaug hopes someone speaks up to help track the Scrooges down.

Cox Media Group