Police say intoxicated man stole, then distributed Christmas trees

BRANDON, Man. – It appears a thief in Manitoba acted part-Santa and part-Scrooge on the weekend.

Police say a man stole a dozen ornamental Christmas trees from an outside display at a grocery store in Brandon on Sunday evening.

The trees and ornaments were stuffed into a shopping cart, taken away and left on various properties nearby.

Sgt. Kirby Sararas says police were able to follow the trail of holiday clues, retrieve the trees and make an arrest.

A 33-year-old man has been charged with theft under $5,000.

Sararas says the suspect was highly intoxicated, and appeared to be doling out the trees as he made his way through the area.

“I believe he was sort of getting rid of them as he went,” she said.

“On the surface, it does look like he was being generous and sharing them with everybody. I don’t know what his intentions were.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2019.