WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Surveillance cameras rolled as a group of thieves stole Christmas presents and medicine from a woman suffering from a crippling disease.
Carolyn Garay, who suffers from scleroderma, said she usually locks the doors of her car outside of her West Miami-Dade home. However, overnight Wednesday, something went wrong and a group of thieves made their move.
“Hard-earned money gone to waste, ’cause now everything’s stolen,” she said. “It’s very hard. It’s very hard to watch.”
Surveillance video shows three men and a woman entering Garay’s car and stealing every single present inside. The quartet also stole Garay’s scleroderma medication.
“It attacks your inner organs, but aside from that, it also attacks the skin,” Garay said. “You see my hands? I can’t open them or close them. They just stay stiff.”
Garay said the gifts were for family members, and the theft sends her back to square one, just days before Christmas.
Garay said she has no idea who the thieves are and is hopeful the surveillance video will lead to an identification. She also said the gifts were worth a couple of thousand of dollars.
Less than six miles away, Jose Camejo was also a victim of gift theft.
“It hurts to just have somebody just walk up to your property and take something that you’ve been waiting for, that you’re excited to receive,” he said.
At around 1:40 p.m., Thursday, a man wearing dark shorts and a sleeveless shirt stole a bike Camejo had bought for his daughter. “It was a bicycle for my daughter, really the only thing she had asked for Christmas,” Camejo said.
Surveillance cameras also captured the thieves at Camejo’s home.
“I remember at the moment when I’m watching the video, you start shaking, you feel like wait a minute, this can’t be happening,” Camejo said.
One person has stepped up and is helping Garay out with some of her gifts.
If you have any information on this theft, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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