Cactus thieves caught on video stealing $10,000 worth of plants from community

HENDERSON, Nev. (KVVU/Gray News) - An unusual series of thefts has hit a Las Vegas community.

Residents say thieves have been digging up cactuses in the Cadence neighborhood in Henderson. They estimate at least 100 plants have been stolen, totaling up to $10,000.

“They actually posted a video from their doorbell camera that a pickup truck stopped, and two guys hoped out like in front of people’s houses - it was weird,” explained Flynn Stern, a Cadence homeowner.

Stern says he saw a neighbor’s video on social media and then noticed plants were missing outside his home.

“We have a couple missing here in front of our house. How strange is that? I don’t know what is going on,” Stern said.

“I have no idea why somebody would pull a cactus out of the front of someone’s house. We have a nice neighborhood here. It’s a brand new neighborhood, a lot of kids and families around here, so it is kind of upsetting,” he shared.

The homeowner who shared the home security video said it was a sunny Sunday afternoon when he looked out his window and saw two people with a truck. One person was carrying a pickax. As one removed a round barrel cactus, another picked it up and threw it in the truck. When he screamed at them, they quickly drove off.

“There was a female and a male taking those out and I thought it was the workers,” described Cadence homeowner Luis Maldonado, who didn’t realize he was watching a crime in progress until later. “They were wearing vests and everything. It looks like they were here to do good, but they weren’t.”

“It’s alarming. It cost a lot of money for the association,” stated Cheryl Gowan, vice president of marketing for Cadence, who is also the HOA vice president.

Gowan shared that Cadence is well aware of the thefts that have been going on for months and is working with the Henderson Police Department to stop them.

“We do ask our residents if they have any cameras that may have caught this, that they at least let our community manager know so we can provide that to the police department. Every little bit helps in identifying suspects,” Gowan requested.

Henderson police told KVVU they are investigating, but because it is an open investigation, they could not comment further.

Las Vegas isn’t the only place where cactuses are being stolen. In Tucson, Arizona, pricey plants were stolen from a neighborhood in October. For a month, 30 were taken with an estimated value of $7,500.

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