Thieves are taking down Halloween decorations from Poway homes

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A Poway family was left reeling after waking up to find almost all of their Halloween decorations gone.

It’s Halloween night and all Mandy Caparso can think about is the terrifying sight that disappeared into the night.

“It’s just devastating and sad,” Caparso said.

Early Tuesday morning, just after 2 a.m., as Caparso’s family slept in their home on Saddlewood Drive, their dog started barking.

“Two or three other neighbors confirmed they heard a loud engine revving, which could have been the truck driving up the hill,” Caparso said.

Hours later, Caparso woke up to find most of her Halloween display gone, including three inflatables, several skeletons and an animatronic witch.

The stolen items also included four pumpkins that she and her sons, ages 6 and 11, spent the weekend making.

“The 6-year-old was bawling for two hours. Why would anyone do this? … It’s hard to explain to a 6-year-old why people want to steal the things you put up just to bring joy to others,” said Caparso.

The total loss was between $800 and $1,000 worth of decor. At least two other nearby homes were hit. Around 2 a.m. that morning, surveillance cameras in the area recorded a truck driving in and out of the area. The truck looked similar to the one spotted in La Mesa an hour and a half later.

On Tuesday, Steve Peron described to me the items that had disappeared from his yard on El Paso Street in La Mesa.

After four people in hoodies were filmed racing through his yard, grabbing decorations before tossing them into the nearly full bed of the truck. Peron’s garden was one of two targets on his street. That truck again looked similar to the one in the Poway area.

“If it’s the same truck, it’s a coordinated effort. This was an operation,” Caparso said.

Whether the motive is to resell the items or something else, a frustrated Caparso says she has a message for the thieves.

“I really hope that one day you have children, and that you can see the excitement on their faces when you are decorating something for a holiday, and someone takes it away from you.

ABC 10News has reached out to the San Diego Sheriff’s Office and La Mesa Police to see if they are investigating a connection and are waiting to hear back.

In the meantime, Caparso says she has replaced some items, but won’t bring them out until Halloween and remove them at the end of the evening.