Christmas is near, but thieves are stealing decorations in some Lafayette neighborhoods.  

Neighbors are now speaking out after their surveillance cameras caught the thieves in the act. 

Janie Varisco and Mark Falgout live about ten minutes away from each other. 

Through social media and surveillance video, they realized the same thieves were in their neighborhoods stealing Christmas decorations early Saturday morning. 

With surveillance video pictured in the background, Varisco says, “So this is a different angle of them walking across and you’ll be able to see them go towards my neighbor’s house.” 

Caught on camera: Varisco’s surveillance cameras outside her home show three people walking towards her neighbor’s house. 

“My neighbors next door called to say that their 28-year-old wooden nutcracker figurine was stolen off their house so when we got home we started checking all our cameras,” Varisco adds. 

 Falgout’s neighbor has surveillance video showing the same thieves stealing decorations from his house about 30 minutes after they targeted Varisco’s neighbors. 

“That’s when we made the real connection that ‘oh my god’ it’s the same people,” explains Varisco. “So we want them caught.” 

“I pulled up at 8 o’clock in the morning in the rain on Saturday morning. I looked over there, and there was only one deer left. And my heart just dropped. I felt like who would steal Rudolph ‘huh?’ who would steal that Christmas spirit,” says Falgout. 

 Varisco is determined to find the heirloom nutcracker stolen from her neighbor’s house. 

 “Their family made this for them. And that’s what’s important. You’re stealing something that’s an heirloom. You’re stealing a memory,” adds Varisco. “You’re stealing Christmas and we don’t want to stand for it.  

Falgout says, “They can’t take the Christmas spirit and we’re stronger than that, but it’s just a shame so I just hope that the word gets out.” 

Both Varisco and Falgout say they have reached out to law enforcement in the hopes of catching these Christmas thieves.