'We got Grinched': Vandals steal holiday decorations from Santa Rosa home
'He stole a part of Christmas for us," said Santa Rosa resident Alden Dolcini after his house was hit by a Christmas Grinch.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- It wouldn't be the holiday season without one of those stories about a person with spirit who goes all out to decorate the house.
We have one of those tonight, although it hardly worked out as expected for a well-meaning family in Santa Rosa.
Imagine the Christmas spirit, deflated, with decorations stolen and a mess left behind.
It is not how Alden Dolcini's yard on Cody Court in Santa Rosa looked before their nightmare, two weeks before Christmas.
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"It's one of those things. I wish people were better but the people who did this? Rude for sure," said Alden.
He is an Iraq veteran now with CAL FIRE, one of those people on the front lines.
His wife Cristie, works at Kaiser.
This year, they finally reached their goal of making it onto a list of the best holiday houses in Santa Rosa. They're two local heroes who got this.
"When did it happen?" ABC7's Wayne Freedman asked Alden.
"The day after that list came out," Alden said.
"We definitely got Grinched," Cristie said.
"We got Grinched and he stole a part of Christmas for us," added Alden.
It happened Sunday night between 11 p.m. and midnight. Nobody saw the vandals, but the next morning, they found all of the damage.
"I've had a lot of faith in people being nice," said Alden. "It's Christmas. We're all supposed to be together."
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"Well our youngest is five," said Cristie. "He's having more trouble. When we come home he has to open the drapes to the driveway so he can watch out for thieves in the front yard."
On Wednesday, Santa Rosa police looked around. The Dolcini family did not have a working camera in their yard, but other neighbors do, so there is some hope of finding the people who did this.
"What would you say to them," Freedman asked Alden.
"I would like to ask why, and if they really needed it, just ask me," he said.
It is the season of giving, after all.
Those bad guys took the decorations, but can't touch the spirit.
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