Thieves steal Halloween decorations from La Mesa’s yard

LA MESA, Calif. (KGTV) – Surveillance footage captured a group of thieves stealing Halloween decorations from a La Mesa yard just two days before Halloween, making the homeowner’s display much less spooky.

Steve Peron, who spent a decade building his Halloween setup, expressed his disappointment.

“Just disappointment,” Peron said.

Around 3 a.m., surveillance cameras recorded four people in hoodies walking through Peron’s front yard on El Paso Street, picking up the Halloween decor. One thief, with his face covered, looked directly at the camera before he and the others loaded decorations into the back of a truck and drove away.

‘It’s terrible. I don’t know how they sleep at night,” Peron said.

The stolen items included a “Nightmare Before Christmas” animatronic character, inflatables and gravestones, with a total value of approximately $1,000.

Around the same time, a similar incident happened down the street at Emily Perrine’s home.

“We had a big skeleton in our hammock,” Perrine said.

Within seconds, her display, consisting of about twenty pieces, disappeared. The thieves fled in a similar truck. Perrine reported a total loss of $1,500, including several large animatronic figures.

“My tree was full of ghosts and pumpkins,” she added.

‘It’s dirty. It’s sad. Why? There are only a few days left before Halloween begins. I’m sure the neighborhood kids are angry. We love decorating the neighborhood,” Perrine said.

Her children were especially affected, including her 12-year-old son, who was hesitant to participate in Halloween festivities.

“My 12-year-old son was upset. He didn’t believe it… He doesn’t want to give out candy because there are no decorations for people to see,” she said.

Despite the setback, both Peron and Perrine vow to keep their Halloween spirit alive.

‘We still hand out candy. It’ll be fun. They’ll get over it, but it just sucks,” Perrine said.

Video footage shows the truck bed filled with apparently stolen decorations. Anyone with information about the thefts is urged to call Crime Stoppers or the La Mesa Police Department at 619-667-1400.