A woman who was nicknamed “The Grinch” for stealing parcels off the doorsteps of residents in a Michigan city has been apprehended. WWJ News Radio reports that police in Sterling Heights made a Facebook post asking the public to help them identify someone who had been going around the neighborhood in a dark mini-van pilfering boxes left outside of homes by delivery services.
“The term grinchy shall apply when Christmas spirit is in short supply,” they wrote. “We are calling for your help to identify this Grinch before she has a chance to ruin someone else’s Christmas.”
The police described the woman as a “white, female.”
In the security video that accompanied the post, you can see the woman exit her vehicle, after circling the block a couple times. She then proceeds towards the doorstep before casually strolling off with a large box. The box had previously been left there by a Fed Ex delivery van. She made sure to dress warmly for her thievery as she can be seen wearing a dark coat.
In an interview with the Detroit Free Press , Lieutenant Mario Bastianelli of the Sterling Height Police Department said that this isn’t the first time that they’d seen this criminal, adding that it was pretty common around the holidays. He said that most people are just relieved to get their stolen property back and that they will not be charging her.
A woman in Sterling Heights, Michigan is being dubbed “the Grinch” by the police department there for stealing packages from doorsteps. Police have asked the public for any information about the culprit. https://t.co/vn5QnmMCtP pic.twitter.com/wjcD2NRoYN
— ABC News (@ABC) November 20, 2018
According to the article by WWJ News Radio, the female thief was caught in a neighboring city where she actually resides. Based on the report, it looks like a concerned citizen witnessed one of her heists and decided to follow her vehicle and record her license plate number. Police later tracked her down and concluded that she was the “grinchy” burglar from Sterling Heights. Officers also found the parcels that she had stolen with the labels ripped off.
Although she’s been nabbed, her identity has not been revealed to the public.
The news of this real-life Christmas villain comes as there’s a new Grinch movie in theatres. The film follows the green, furry holiday grump as he plots to pose as Santa Claus and steal Christmas from right under the noses of the residents of Whoville, much like the Sterling Heights’ daylight burglar.
While we’re no experts on crime, seems that it isn’t a good idea to steal your entire modus operandi from a well known fictional character. No wonder she got caught!
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Grinch Still Can’t Touch Jim Carrey’s https://t.co/hTuCjmUItf pic.twitter.com/MrltOvfqrf
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) November 12, 2018
