A Virginia father posted cheerful Christmas decorations on his Facebook profile, but the local sheriff accused him of stealing the inflatable Christmas display scattered across his front yard.
Trey Robinette showed off the Santas and snowmen in a social media post last week, saying the Christmas show was dedicated to his daughter Baleigh.
“Winter wonderland all ready for little Miss Baleigh’s house, I think she’ll love it,” he wrote in his Facebook post.
According to his profile, Robinette runs a contracting company in Ridgeway, Virginia.
After locals flooded the comments on the post to criticize Robinette for allegedly stealing the awards, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office issued a scathingly funny response.
‘Sir. “Robinette, Sheriff Davis and several other deputies stopped by your home today to look at this beautiful display of Christmas cheer in your front yard and we happened to notice that they are all owned by other fine citizens who work for a living,” the Sheriff commented.
‘We appreciate your holiday spirit, but next time we recommend that you decorate your halls with decorations that you actually purchased and paid for. Our deputies will return shortly to discuss your inflated sense of entitlement. Merry christmas!’ the comment is over.
The sheriff’s comment generated more than 18,000 responses, far more than the 1,300 responses to Robinette’s post.
Trey Robinette is pictured with his daughter. Robinette is accused of stealing his neighbor’s Christmas decorations
In the photo: a gingerbread house, snowmen and penguins that are now in Robinette’s front yard
One resident claimed she had video evidence of Robinette stealing her Christmas decorations
Pictured: Robinette’s post caught the attention of the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, which wrote this comment
The hundreds of responses to the sheriff’s comment praised the office for its sense of humor.
“This post wins the internet for Christmas,” one person wrote.
“All laughing in Scotland,” wrote another, while someone else said in the comments that they were from Australia.
“Whoever runs this account deserves a raise,” a third wrote.
Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis told DailyMail.com that the comment he wrote “personally” “was not a joke.”
Davis was surprised his comment went viral, saying, “I had no idea how it would blow up like that.”
Davis accused Robinette of stealing Christmas decorations from “numerous families” in a nearby neighborhood about a week ago.
His office took reports from the families, many of whom had children who were upset because their inflatable Santa Claus or snowman was missing.
Davis said Robinette blew up the decorations the same night he allegedly stole them and later posted them on Facebook.
As the sheriff’s post suggested, officers went to Robinette’s home on Monday. Robinette was not home at the time, but officers were able to recover and return the awards to the affected families.
Robinette, who is well known to the sheriff and has a criminal history, is now wanted by the county on multiple theft charges. Davis said he is currently “evading arrest.”
Robinette posted this message on October 19, and now many of his local detractors find it ironic
The rest of the comments on Robinette’s post shamed him for allegedly setting a bad example for his daughter and having the audacity to post photos of his alleged crime on social media.
“I mean, if you’re going to steal something, maybe don’t post the evidence all over Facebook. Give those people their decorations back and if you can’t afford them yourself, drive around with your kid to see them,” the person suggested.
Many people also picked up on a message he posted in October that they thought was tongue-in-cheek.
Robinette reposted an image with the following caption: “One day your kids will discover you. I promise you they will. The type of parent you are. The type of husband you are. How you interact with other people. How much effort you put into it.
“You’re either going to be someone they look up to or someone they never want to be like. Always remember that they are watching and absorbing.”
Locals also flooded the two-month-old post with negative comments following the sheriff’s public appeal to Robinette.
“Yes, she will. You thief. Poor kid,” one person wrote.
“This didn’t turn out well,” wrote another.
“Dude, you’re young and stupid now. Your daughter will see how you are doing. Change now while you still can,” wrote a third.