Is Thief Green With Envy?

Who would target greenery? “Maybe somebody who has a business in plants,” Gangale guesses. He posted flyers around the neighborhood offering a $100 reward for the identity of the thief. “It is in everybody’s interest to catch these individual(s),” he wrote in bold capitals. “Let’s get rid of this parasite(s).”

His flyers have not yet brought in the culprit, but Gangale has heard from two other people in the Carytown neighborhood whose plants were also taken — one apartment dweller and one whose front yard was robbed. At least one Fan dweller had the same experience. And about a month ago, someone posted a sign on an Idlewood Avenue house, publicly chastising the thieves who ripped plants from the porch and flower beds.

Christie Collins, spokeswoman for the Richmond Police, says that officers in the Third Precinct have heard nothing about these plant thefts. “They need to report it so that we can do something about it,” she says.

Gangale has brought his other prized plants into the house, but left a few coffee plants outside — as bait, he says. “I’ll leave it there and see what happens,” he says, chuckling. “Maybe I catch them.”

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