Police Replace Family’s Stolen Gifts

A policeman turned into Santa Claus for a distraught family early Sunday after a burglar broke into the family’s home while they were at church and stole all the gifts under their Christmas tree.

Officers went to the ransacked house about 1 a.m. and found the father trying to tell his crying 2-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son what had happened to their presents, Police Lt. Frank Valdez said.

“Dad was explaining why Santa wasn’t going to be there,” Valdez said. “All the presents under the tree were missing.”

A burglar had kicked in the front door of the South-Central Los Angeles house while the family was attending midnight Mass at a local Catholic church, Valdez said.

Officer Sean McGee returned to the 77th Street Division police station and collected about $65 from officers working the overnight shift, Valdez said.

“Our desk man got on the phone and found an all-night Thrifty store with a toy shop and officers went out shopping. They pretty much replaced what was taken,” Valdez said.

“The little girl had dolls and toy dishes. The little boy, all he wanted was a fire truck. He got a fire truck and other little toys.”

Valdez said he was proud of the officers at the station.

“It just shows me that they are very concerned about the community that they’re serving,” Valdez said. “They’ve got a lot of heart.”

Police had not captured the burglar, he said.