A local nursery says they've been burglarized five times in less than two months and that it's cost them thousands of dollars. They hope someone can identify the person/people caught on camera.
In surveillance video you can see a man walk into Geremia Gardens in Southington around 11:30 p.m. Sunday and start picking up hanging baskets filled with flowers. For several minutes the video shows him going back and forth, grabbing more flowers.
"We came in the next morning, and we noticed a lot of plants in the front were missing," said Geremia Gardens owner Mary Lou Geremia.
There are several tables at the West Street shop that should be filled with plants but are empty. Police say they have three burglary reports from the shop, but the owners say Sunday night's theft marked number five since May.
"It makes me very angry coming in and seeing this every time," said Geremia. "I just want this person caught."
Geremia says hundreds of plants have been taken, costing around $10,000. After the first theft, Geremia says they purchased a security camera upgrade but that it's done little to deter the crime from happening again and again. Geremia says in the surveillance video, it looks like the same car parks across the road, and it's always a man by himself strolling through. She says the thefts can take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes.
During the busy spring season, it's been a big hit for the local business.
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"To lose that much product at this time is not good at all," said Geremia.
Police have not told NBC Connecticut if they believe the thefts are connected or not. Geremia says she hopes someone recognizes the person or people stealing from them and gives that information to police.
"It's upsetting that someone thinks they can just come and do whatever they feel like doing," said Geremia.
Geremia says she and her husband are looking into other security measures. They ask that anyone who may have driven by the area on Sunday around 11.30 p.m. and seen something to give Southington police a call.
