“It’s packages, it’s hanging baskets, now it’s plants being dug out of the ground. What’s next?” Irena Dudley told KHOU 11.
HOUSTON — For eight years, Irina Dudley has called a townhouse off Driscoll Street in Montrose home.
Her leopard plants that line the street may technically sit on city property, but Dudley has always treated them like her own.
“They were babies when I put them in, and now they’ve grown, and they make a nice border here,” she said. “Although I’m not really a gardener, I like it; it makes me happy.”
That happiness turned to disbelief when one of her plants disappeared. She didn’t notice at first until she spotted the gap and checked her security footage.
“Lots of thoughts came through my mind, how did it happen?” Dudley told KHOU 11. “It’s packages, it’s hanging baskets, now it’s plants being dug out of the ground. What’s next?”
The video shows a maroon-colored SUV pull up and a woman opens the passenger door, steps out and inspects the plant, and then leaves. Minutes later, she’s back. This time, she dug up the plant — roots and all.
“It took about a minute, she pulls it out, she gets in the car, and they leave,” Dudley said. “I was just stunned, really, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Irina posted the video online, hoping neighbors might recognize the suspect and alert them about the bizarre crime.
“I hadn’t seen anything like this, and I wanted to share and let people know what’s going on and see how the community feels about it.”
The plant only costs about $12 to replace, but that’s not the point.
“To me, it’s not really about the money. I can replace and will replace the plant,” Dudley said. “I do feel violated. It’s a violation of my privacy in some way.”
She said she would have been happy to give the plant away if only they’d asked.
Now she worries petty thefts like this could sprout into something worse.