Grinch tries to steal Christmas

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003 | 10:50 a.m.

Someone tried to steal Christmas from dozens of homeless teenagers this year.

But thanks to the goodwill of others, there were enough presents for all 35 youths at the Saturday Christmas party at the Street Teens drop-in center.

The center, where Las Vegas youths facing hard times can go for a hot meal, clothes, and on Saturday a Christmas party, was broken into twice in the last two weeks. The burglar or burglars took Christmas presents including radios, CDs and shoes, plus the center's stereo, DVD player and a checkbook belonging to the organization, Liza Parker, president of the organization's board of directors, said.

The burglaries, one overnight Dec. 9-10 and the other either late Thursday night or very early Friday, angered the volunteer staff and youths who use the center.

"Everybody was real upset," said a 20-year-old woman who goes by the name Pandora. "It's really depressing to think someone could steal Christmas from a bunch of homeless kids."

A 21-year-old man who called himself Skater Mike said the thefts left him mad and a little confused.

"I was floored that someone could actually do that to people on the street," he said. "I was sad, angry, everything all in one bunch."

But thanks to the generosity of some who heard of the thefts from news reports, the center's Saturday Christmas party went on without a hitch.

"We've had so much stuff donated to the center. This year we're totally overwhelmed," said Pandora, who first left her parents' home six years ago.

"They're awesome," she said of the donors.

Following news reports of the burglaries on Friday, the organization received about $600 in cash or checks, and numerous gifts were dropped off at the center on Tropicana Avenue near Maryland Parkway, Parker said.

Mike said the generosity of those who brought more presents left him speechless.

"It was a blessing for all that," he said.

For Christmas, Mike got a sweater, boxer shorts, and a skateboarding video game, which he plays at friends' homes.

Pandora got a CD player, four CDs, eyeliner and tweezers for Christmas. She said the gifts the youths at the center received might not seem like a lot to some people, but they are to those at the center.

"Mike's excited he got boxers," she said.

And there was music at the Christmas party thanks to Annette Thomas, who replaced the center's stolen stereo with one from her hair salon.

"I felt really bad," Thomas, 39, said. "I just thought, 'Who would take something from someone who has nothing?' I gave them the stereo so they would have something for the Christmas party."

Parker said the organization's board is considering ways to make the center more secure, such as a higher fence or an alarm system.

Thomas said she wants to pay the monthly fee for an alarm system.

"I'm just trying to think of every way I could help," Thomas said. She has been bringing a home-cooked meal to the center once a week. She brought cheeseburgers on Monday. "They're people too and they need to be shown that there's people that care about them."

Parker said she was shocked someone would steal from a charitable organization like Street Teens, but luckily others came through with 11th-hour donations.

"Thanks to everyone who pitched in at the last minute we were OK," she said.

Both break-ins came through an office window. Many doors within the center were also broken during the burglaries.

In all Parker estimated the crimes cost the center more than $1,000 in lost gifts and damages. Video surveillance tapes were also taken, she said.

Metro Police is investigating the break-ins. No arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon.

Parker said it is unlikely that any of the youths who have used the center committed the crimes because some of the doors that were broken through didn't need to be. She said one in particular has a magnetic lock on it that any of the teens who have been at the center would have known how to open by pressing a button.

Parker said they have not decided whether to file an insurance claim for the losses. The insurance policy's deductible and expected increase in premiums that would follow such a claim might make reporting the losses more expensive than it's worth, she said.

But for the youths who use the center, they just want whoever stole from the center to pay for what they did.

"Whoever did it should be shot," Pandora said.