Man channeling Santa left TVs at doorsteps

Henrico County, Va., residents both confused, amused

It was kind of like Christmas — except it was August, the only presents were vintage television sets and Santa had a TV on his head.

Residents of more than 50 households in Henrico County, Virginia, woke up recently to find old-style TVs outside their doorsteps, said Matt Pecka, a lieutenant with the local police department. Pecka said police began receiving reports about the TVs early Aug. 12. Their phones were soon clogged with calls.

“Everyone started coming out of their houses, walking around the neighborhood looking at the TVs there on the doorstep,” said Jeanne Brooksbank, one of the recipients, who lives in the Hampshire neighborhood. “It was very ‘Twilight Zone.’ ”

Each home received exactly one TV, carefully placed so it faced inward toward the door, Brooksbank said. Some deliveries were caught on residents’ doorbell cameras — and that’s where things got truly bizarre.

The givers of faces.

The home videos reveal at least one of the deliverymen: a man wearing a blue jumpsuit, black gloves and what appear to be brown hiking-style boots. He wears a TV set on his shoulders, positioned so it obscures his face.

Pecka said police believe he had a helper: another man in a white jumpsuit who also wore a TV as he made deliveries.

“We determined there was no credible threat to residents and that this was strictly an inconvenience,” Pecka said. “It was” — long pause — “unique.”

After borrowing a truck from the county’s Solid Waste department, a halfdozen police officers collected the television sets in about an hour, Pecka said. The county will recycle them.

There was no additional cost to residents, and the incident didn’t impair normal police activity, Pecka said. The department doesn’t plan to investigate further, he said, although officials encourage residents to contact police if it happens again.

Even if police do identify “TV Santa Claus,” as Jeanne Brooksbank’s husband nicknamed the giver, authorities probably will not press charges. The “closest offense to this” would be leaving an unwanted item on public or private property, Pecka said.

“But I mean, one TV neatly placed on the front doorstep of each resident ... it wasn’t done in a malicious manner,” Pecka said.

At least one doorbell camera video shared with The Washington Post appears to back that up.

The video shows a man in a blue jumpsuit — a TV set perched atop his shoulders — carefully ascending the steps of a porch in the predawn darkness. He clutches a TV in his arms and wears black gloves and brown hiking boots.

The man stops at the top of the stairs, turns and squats — Olympic weightlifting-style — and places the TV on the porch, its screen turned toward the door. He pauses for a fraction of a second, as if to admire his handiwork, and starts heading back the way he came.

Halfway down, he swivels and looks directly at the camera. He cocks his head, waves three times and disappears into the night.

“I think it was awesome, lighthearted and so great to have a fun story like this, even though there are so many tragedies occurring,” said Brooksbank, 48, referring to the deadly shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. “I feel lucky I got a TV.”

Brooksbank said the neighborhood has floated a few theories to explain the TV dump: a college sports team, maybe, or a fraternity prank. Pecka declined to elaborate on any theories police may be considering.

It’s not the first time this had TVs instead has happened. There was a similar TV delivery last year in Glen Allen, in the Grey Oaks neighborhood in Henrico County. The TVs appeared around the same time of year — in late August — but there were fewer of them, Pecka said.

CBS 6 News reported that about 20 TVs were left on Glen Allen porches on Aug. 23 last year. Henrico police investigated, according to CBS 6, but never identified the giver — and, unlike in the Hampshire 3550 NW 77 CT. Palmetto & 36 St., Exit West @ NW 36 St. To 79 Ave., Left to 2nd Left (NW 77 Ct.) Hours: Mon-Sat 9-6, Sun 11-5 (305) 591-4141

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In the hours after Brooksbank first found a TV on her porch about 7 a.m. Sunday, her family cycled through surprise, curiosity and momentary fear, she said. Her son, 18-yearold Chase Brooksbank, at one point suggested leaving the house.

But he reversed course, eventually piling into a car with a few friends and driving around the neighborhood to film a YouTube appeared 12770 KENDALL DR.

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As news of the TV giving spree spread this week, some took to social media to share their confusion. Others loved it. Still others opined this could happen only in Virginia.

A handful of Reddit users proposed designating Aug. 11, the date of the TV drop-off, a holiday dubbed “TV Day.” But the United Nations in 1996 already proclaimed Nov. 21 “World Television Day.” documenting the 8791 SW 133 ST. Across from The Falls, Next to Total Wine Hours: Mon-Fri 9-8, Sat 9-6, Sun 11-5 (305) 233-3233 290 E. OAKLAND PK BLVD. One Mile East of I-95 on South Side Hours: Mon-Fri 10-8, Sat 9-6, Sun 11-5 (954) 537-1417 16173 BISCAYNE BLVD.

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