Grinchy Florida Guy Accused Of Stealing Christmas Decorations

SAFETY HARBOR, FL - A Safety Harbor man is not going to have a happy holiday because he was arrested Monday for stealing Christmas decorations, deputies said. Michael Fitzjarrell, 30, took three inflatables from the front yard of a Safety Harbor home on Friday night and blamed it on a "drunken stupid mistake," according to the sheriff's office. Fitzjarrell displayed the decorations in the front yard of his home about three miles away.

Fitzjarrell is now charged with a felony count of grand theft. A passerby who had seen a television report on the stolen decorations spotted the inflatables - a shark, a T-Rex and a North Pole beach scene with penguins - in Fitzjarrell's front yard. When deputies questioned Fitzjarrell, he claimed he had bought the decorations in St. Louis. When deputies said the serial numbers matched the items, he said he bought them on eBay. He later confessed, deputies said.

“The Grinch came and actually tried to steal our Christmas decorations,” said Cindy Meyer, the Safety Harbor resident who owns the decorations, told News Channel 8. “And on Saturday my children were very upset and they insisted that we go back to the Lowry Park Zoo and see Santa for a second time to specifically ask him to help get Mommy’s shark inflatable back for Christmas.”

Fitzjarrell was released Monday night on bond of $2,000. The inflatables were valued at $450.

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