Both were identified as 19-year-old Miami students and one of them said “the guy over there” told them to pay using Venmo. The other male, however, admitted they had not paid for the tree. They did not know the tree sales were for charity and seemed surprised when told it was a theft.
The tree was taken to the police garage and the two males were taken to the police department. The second male admitted to have two fake IDs on him. They told the officer they got the idea to take the tree when they saw two women carrying off a tree from the lot.
Both were cited for theft and released on their own recognizance.
The second incident occurred the next morning at 2:27 a.m. when an officer driving on North Main Street saw two men standing in the city parking lot holding a Christmas tree. As he approached the pair, they dropped the tree.
They were asked for identification. They were asked about the tree and one said it was broken. Asked about the tree, one said he did not know about the tree and told the officer had seen others holding it. He said he had not touched the tree but the other reportedly told the officer, “We were all together when someone broke the tree off and someone said take it, so I grabbed it.”
The officer detected the odor of alcoholic beverages on the breath of both men and both were confirmed as 19. They were both handcuffed and placed in a cruiser.
At the police department, one was quoted in the report as saying, “We were just holding the tree.”
One of them said he had been with others who fled when the police cruiser drove up and admitted he had not paid for the tree. He was charged with theft and the other male was charged with complicity to theft. Both were charged with offenses concerning underage persons. Both were released to friends after being issued their summons. The tree was returned to the park.
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