LEWISTON – The holiday cheer may be dwindling on Howard Street, where two residents have been the victims of bizarre holiday crimes.
It was Wednesday morning when Sally Crocker, of 85 Howard St., went outside to turn on her Christmas decorations for company. Much to her surprise, she found only an empty liquor bottle where two large, inflatable characters should have been. Thieves had made off with Bart Simpson and SpongeBob SquarePants in the night.
“It blew me away, because Bart Simpson belongs to a little boy,” Crocker said Wednesday. “He went out and spent his money so he could have an inflatable.”
Three years ago, she explained, her son Joseph Charest, then 16, and her best friend’s son, Zackery Williams, then 7, pooled their savings to purchase Bart Simpson to add to Crocker’s annual holiday display.
And SpongeBob, Crocker said, was a gift she received this year. The colorful cartoon character sat atop a present that said “Charest Family” in large letters.
“I have no way of replacing them and it’s four days before Christmas,” she said. Inflatables cost about $60 apiece.
Dawn Simpson, lives two doors down from Crocker at 79 Howard St. She’s had an equally frustrating holiday week, losing gifts for her daughters ages 5, 7 and 8 in a car burglary Monday.
Simpson was shopping at the Auburn Kmart. Returning to her car around 9 p.m., she found her passenger window smashed and a bag of gifts gone.
Amazingly, another $600 to $800 worth of gifts she had stowed in her trunk went untouched. But the window set Simpson back nearly $200, and she lost $100 worth of gifts and raffle items for the Longley School PTA in the robbery.
“I had to cash in my bottles so I could get more ornaments for my kids’ teachers,” she said. “Merry Christmas.”
Lt. Tim Cougle of the Auburn Police Department said Simpson’s break-in was an isolated incident. The department does encourage people to keep their car doors locked, however.
There was a string of minor thefts from unlocked vehicles last week. “Basically they’re opportunists looking for a quick, easy buck,” he said.
Back on Howard Street, Crocker has reported her missing inflatables but doubts she’ll ever see them again.
Simpson, who was surprised to learn a neighbor was having similar holiday troubles, said her kids will be sad to find Bart and SpongeBob missing from Crocker’s holiday display.
“Every time we drive by, the kids always look at it,” she said.
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