DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — It’s an unusual crime, but the culprit is no pansy: The Warren County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a woman two homeowners caught stealing flowerpots in their neighborhood.
Hope and Tom O’Brien said they were sleeping Wednesday night when a woman came onto their property and stole two flower pots. When she was driving away, she ran into their mailbox and left something behind, too: a taillight.
“Little did she know we have video cameras everywhere,” said Hope O’Brien.
The O’Briens' home security system captured footage of the culprit — a white woman cast mostly in silhouette — driving up to their home, turning off her headlights and getting out of the car. She first attempted to steal a large planter near their garage, but gave up when it proved too heavy to lift.
Instead, she made off with two smaller flower pots and struck the family’s mailbox with her car on her way out.
The O’Briens said Thursday that the pots were not a major loss, but they were still upset to have been robbed.
“I was concerned for the safety, of course, of ourselves and our neighborhood, not knowing why this person would be snooping around,” Tom said.
“If she would have walked by and said, ‘You know what, I really like your flower pots — can I have them?’ I would have said, ‘You know what, go ahead,’" Hope said.
