Police search for vandals at the flower festival | News, Sports, Jobs

News photo by Steve Schulwitz. Alpena Police Sergeant JC Valley, left, and Sanctuary Cinema Assistant Director of Operations Caitlynn Shadbolt review surveillance footage Sunday that shows two people damaging and stealing part of an Alpena Flower Festival exhibit.

ALPENA – Alpena police are searching for two suspects who damaged and stole part of one of the flower displays that were part of last weekend’s flower festival in Alpena.

Surveillance footage from the Sanctuary Cinema has been handed over to police, who will now begin investigating the alleged crime and searching for the suspects. The vehicle in which the suspects left the building can also be seen on the video.

The damaged and stolen display was discovered by an employee who came to work on Sunday morning and called the police after reviewing the surveillance footage.

The News was able to view surveillance video from the front of the theater and it appears to show two young women approaching the theater from the Black Sheep area at 12:14 a.m. They used flashlights from their cell phones while dismantling the display, which featured a large popcorn box with large white flowers as popcorn and yellow balloons as butter. The flowers and balloons were left in the flower pot that was inside the oversized popcorn box. The suspects left the scene in the same direction they came from.

The video also showed one of the suspects placing her cellphone on the sidewalk to remove the decorations, dropping a sticker from “The Black Sheep” on the ground, which the cinema employee spotted and picked up when she opened the cinema on Sunday morning before watching the video.

The suspect left her phone behind, but quickly returned to retrieve it before leaving the scene by car and walking past the cinema.

Several cars drove past the suspects as they removed the display and walked away with it, meaning there may be someone who saw the incident.

Police Chief Eric Hamp said videos usually help police locate suspects, and in this case, there could be consequences if the suspects are located and arrested.

He said it’s possible the two suspects could face criminal damage and theft charges if they are arrested and charged. Hamp said the amount of damage and the value of the stolen goods will determine whether they will be misdemeanors or felonies.

Movie theater owner Jeff Konczak was upset about the theft and damage to the decorations. He said it robs others of the chance to see the decorations and take photos with them, and worse, it could make businesses rethink their spending on events like the Flower Festival.

“People wonder why some companies don’t step up and do more, and this is a good example of that,” he said. “It’s not cheap to do something like this, and then some idiots come along and try to ruin it for everyone.”

On Sunday afternoon, it appeared that only the flower display in the theater had been badly damaged. Rain and wind scattered a few petals and leaves around some of the exhibits, but it seemed that no damage was intentional.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Alpena Police at 989-354-1800.