We’ve seen packages swiped off of porches around the holidays. Now, with warmer weather here, we’re seeing a more unexpected target.
Those massive flower baskets that you can hang from your front porch are starting to disappear.
While many say they’re a staple of springtime in Pueblo, News 5 found two flower thieves caught on camera.
A Pueblo woman noticed something was wrong almost two weeks ago.
Tonight at 6:30: Thieves are targeting something new on your porches in Pueblo, aside from packages. I’ll introduce you to the flower thieves caught on camera up next on @KOAA pic.twitter.com/1vSw8YwHwV
— Lena Howland (@LenaHowland) May 23, 2018
"I came out to water my flowers and my barrels and my flowers were gone and then I noticed one of the hanging ones was also gone," the victim who asked not to be identified said.
Those flower thieves were caught red handed on her surveillance cameras.
"The barrel was right here and then the other barrel was right here," she said.
And a few days later, on Mother’s Day, they came back for more and took everything else!
"They took eight!" she said.
Even spotted running away with flowers in hand.
If you recognize these two… well, so did many others after the victim posted this on social media.
"Not once, not twice but three times and before you know it, I got the exact address so we drove by and sure enough, there were all of my flowers along with a lot of other stuff," she said.
Even snapping this picture of the address she was given, clearly identifying what she believes to be her flowers, before calling police.
"It looks like garden central so it’s just frustrating because it’s hundreds of flowers that they have," she said.
Pueblo police are actively investigating this case but they say, in the warmer weather, she isn’t alone.
"Unfortunately, we have seen these incidents arise particularly in the spring and summertime, where we have individuals going around and targeting flower baskets on front porches," Officer Brandon Beauvais, a crime prevention officer at the Pueblo Police Department said.
So they recommend setting up a surveillance camera when possible and while it can be tedious, they say it’s not a bad idea to mark these items.
"Your flower pots, taking a Sharpie, or an engraver and making some special marks on certain areas that maybe aren’t obvious to everybody so if we do come in contact with these, we can identify them as the proper owner," Beauvais said.
Police also say to be weary of people selling these types of things in parking lots or on the side of the road as they do have the possibility to be stolen property.
