Thieves target Toys For Tots

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Heartless thieves are caught on camera stealing from kids and the Marines. Police say crooks broke into the Toys For Tots warehouse in Hall County more than a dozen times over the past couple of months. Police say once inside they steal toys and vandalize the building.

Commandant Brett Barrett says they've found many toys broken, others stolen.

“We had 27 bicycles all lined up in order by age, now we have 11. They're gone and we'll never get them back,” says Barrett.

It's not just the toys they're after.

“They broke into the clothing closet, ransacked it and left it in shambles,” says Cookie Salinas with the Toys For Tots program.

He says they also broke the door of the food pantry and helped themselves to some food.

The crooks also took an American flag that was in a shadow box hanging on the wall. The flag was donated to them by a fellow Marine who served in Afghanistan.

“It's priceless. It was a flag that was flown over Afghanistan,” says Barrett.

Barrett says they've recently installed surveillance cameras and caught five people entering the building. He says they're taking advantage of so many who have donated to the Toys For Tots, a program that helped 14,000 children in the Hall County area last Christmas.

The Marines say they've had enough. They want these guys caught.

“If they needed help they could come to us and we'd help them, that's what we do, we're Marines,” says Barrett.