Repeat Offender Facing A Felony After Stealing Children's Gifts From Underneath A Tree On Christmas Morning

A Florida woman went full Grinch early Christmas morning after Santa paid a hotel a visit and left gifts under the tree in the lobby. She swiped six of the presents before exiting the lobby area.

Erica Rothenbuhler, 44, entered the lobby of a St. Petersburg Red Roof Inn just after midnight on Christmas, according to police. She "began looking under the tree" before grabbing six toys meant for children and leaving the lobby.

The hotel security footage captured the alleged theft. Police didn't know if the presents had been collected in a toy drive at the hotel or who the children's gifts were for.

SIGN UP for The Daily OutKick. New Look, Same Attitude.

Rothenbuhler allegedly "made spontaneous statements saying that she thought the gifts were for the kids in the building."

Here's where this story takes a turn away from the heartwarming, like the dad busted for stealing the 400 pounds of avocados to sell for presents for his kids. Police say that she doesn’t even have any children.

Shockingly, The Christmas Morning Encounter Wasn’t Her First Run-In With Police

Rothenbuhler, a repeat offender, stole the $48 worth of toys for reasons she only knows. She was arrested for theft, normally a misdemeanor.

Unfortunately for this Grinch, she has two prior convictions from a couple of arrests in the summer of 2023. The Smoking Gun reports that the convictions stem from arrests for stealing from a Winn-Dixie supermarket and a Wawa convenience store.

As of Friday, Rothenbuhler was still locked up in the Pinellas County jail in lieu of $5,000 bond. She's now facing a maximum of five years in prison if convicted of her alleged early Christmas morning third-degree felony.

What did she expect here? You can’t go around being accused of stealing children's gifts from underneath a Christmas tree in a hotel lobby. That's not the sort of situation that's going to produce any kind of happy ending.