Teens arrested for damages to holiday decorations

Sheriff’s spokesperson Debra Johnson told Historic City News that three Palm Coast teenagers were taken into custody after they were caught stealing Christmas decorations and damaging mailboxes along several city streets overnight on Saturday and early yesterday morning.

The seventeen-year old boys told deputies they were “Grinch-ing” when the smashed mailboxes with baseball bats and stole holiday lawn ornaments.

The deputies told the teens they were under arrest and charged with felony grand theft from a dwelling, criminal mischief and felony criminal mischief.

The three charged are Zachary Jacobs, 20 Big Bear Lane, Matthew Smith, 42 Federal Lane and James Rumph, 98 Brushwood Lane — all in Palm Coast.

Deputies responded to a home at 52 Filbert Lane Sunday morning where the resident reported stolen holiday lights followed by another call from a resident at 23 Federal Lane reported the theft of holiday decorations.

By the end of the investigation, deputies listed additional complaints from residents at 151 Foster Lane; 70 Fort Caroline Lane; 5, 6, 10 and 27 Federal Lane; 3 Felter Lane; 17, 21, 46, 48 and 50 Fernwood Lane. At 77 Forest Hill Drive, the rear window to a vehicle was smashed and a back panel was damaged.

Deputies identified the three juveniles involved; who returned the stolen items to the owners. The boys assisted deputies with identifying the damages they caused overnight. Two baseball bats were recovered from vacant lots. Stolen holiday lights and lawn ornaments were recovered outside the home of one of the juveniles, and from inside the trunk of the vehicle that had been used in the incident.

In all, deputies determined that a total of nine separate damage incidents were caused by the teenagers; include damage to mailboxes, a house window and a vehicle.

One juvenile was transported to the Division of Youth Services in Daytona Beach, while the other two were charged and released to their parents