90 Trees and Bushes Stolen From Nursery in Saugus

Someone is stealing the trees of Santa Clarita.

About 90 trees and bushes worth $10,000 have been stolen from a Saugus nursery during the past two weeks. These trees did not go quietly, but were carted off by a group of men in pickup trucks playing loud music as they loaded up on the foliage at Green Landscape Nursery in Saugus, police said.

“They raise all kinds of hell,” said Sgt. Dick Young of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “One of the people that lived over there called and complained about employees being in there at night time. (The owner) said, ‘No, they’re not my people there.’ ”

The most recent theft occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. Monday at the four-acre lot. A woman who lives nearby said her 12-year-old daughter complained of being kept awake by music coming from the area, but the family never suspected it was tree thieves at work.

“I thought it was one of his workers staying out there overnight and watching the nursery,” she said, adding she has heard music only on one other occasion a couple of weeks ago.

Among the items stolen were 60 bushes in 15-gallon containers, 20 white birch trees in 24-inch boxes and 10 large trees of various types cut into balls and other shapes, said Richard Green, the nursery’s owner. He said the stolen items make up a small part of his inventory, but other items also appear to be missing.

“We have employees making a list of the other stuff,” he said. “We don’t know the total amount.”

A gate leading to the lot has been found locked each morning, and any tracks left by vehicles are apparently covered up, according to a sheriff’s report.

Young said landscaping thefts are not an everyday occurrence, but are not uncommon. He said the stolen foliage is sold to gardeners or to a group of residents through door-to-door sales.