San Diego

Thieves Steal 16-Foot Roll of Turf From Paradise Hills Yard, Woman Says

A  woman hopes surveillance video showing two men grab sod from her front yard and drive off with the 16-foot roll protruding from the trunk will help police catch the culprits. 

Madonna Haynes told police the duo stole the nearly thousand-dollar roll of turf from her Paradise Hills home on Daisy Avenue just before 7 a.m. Saturday. 

"I woke up and was getting ready for the landscaping people to come in to start installing my turf when I opened up my door and I see a 16 (foot) roll of turf completely missing out of my yard," Haynes told NBC 7. 

She panicked but then remembered her neighbor across the street has video cameras. Together, the two searched through four hours of footage looking for proof of the theft, Haynes said. 

Just before giving up, they found the video they were looking for. 

Two men rush to the front yard, grab the large roll and haul it to their sedan, dropping it multiple times before shoving it into the car's trunk and driving away, surveillance video shows. 

"I couldn’t believe that they would actually do that to broad daylight in the morning, Haynes said. "I was shocked to see a small vehicle come up and do this. I was expected trucks, trailers. I expected groups of people, and it was only two people in a sedan car." 

Haynes filed a police report and hopes the surveillance video will help officers find the two men. 

"Maybe a neighbor or someone who saw this ridiculous black Nissan Altima driving down the street with a 16-foot roll of turf hanging out of the back end of the car, driving down the street would maybe report it." 

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