COURTESY YOUTUBE COURTESY YOUTUBE
This screen capture of a YouTube video shows a woman stealing a Christmas wreath from the elevator of the Prudential Locations building on Kapahulu Avenue.
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A woman apparently running low on holiday decorations was caught on video stealing a wreath from inside an elevator in a building in Kapahulu.
A YouTube video called the "Christmas Wreath Thief" was posted Thursday on the Internet showing an unknown woman removing a wreath from the elevator wall of the former Hawaiian Dredging building at 614 Kapahulu Ave. The three-story building is occupied by Side Street Inn on Da Strip and Prudential Locations’ corporate headquarters.
The video shows the woman and a man entering the elevator from the Side Street Inn on the night of Dec. 15. Seconds later the woman, dressed in a light blue-and-white printed blouse and white pants, pulled the wreath off the wall and looped it over her arm. Before she removed it, the woman smelled the wreath.
The woman and man exited the elevator as a Side Street employee stepped in. Immediately he noticed the wreath was missing. Scratching his head, he took a second look. He tried to notify the manager, but it was too late, according to Robbie Acoba, operations manager of Side Street.
Video from the security camera that caught the theft was reviewed by property management and posted on YouTube, where it had been viewed almost 3,500 times by 2 p.m. Friday.
A police report wasn’t made, as staff at Prudential Locations have taken the theft in stride.
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"It’s a wreath," said Scott Higashi, executive vice president of sales who dubbed the woman "Auntie, the Wreath Bandit."
"They didn’t have time to stop at a store. They took a five-finger discount and took it off the wall," Higashi said.
"I guess next year we’ll have to put some wire on it or something," he said with a laugh. "I think we should check if we have our trees."
Acoba said that, though humorous, it’s still a theft no matter how big or small.
He issued a warning to patrons: "There’s always somebody watching."
As Higashi joked that the staff is keeping a vigil for the missing wreath, he mentioned Prudential Locations and Side Street Inn are offering a savory reward in exchange for the safe return of the wreath: a meal of Side Street’s famous pork chops and fried rice.
