The woman arrested for stealing Christmas decorations in Parker County has a long criminal record and once served prison time for solicitation to commit murder.
Dana Brock, 43, was arrested Wednesday morning at her boyfriend's home in the 100 block of Rim Rock Road in Aledo.
She sold some of the stolen Christmas decorations to other unsuspecting homeowners, Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said.
On Tuesday, NBC 5, as well as other local media outlets, published a story on the Christmas Grinch along with photos and video obtained from a residential surveillance system that caught the thief in the act.
Several people recognized the woman and called investigators.
According to police, Brock implicated herself in the thefts and was booked into the Parker County Jail on two charges of misdemeanor theft of property.
"I was very shocked if she in fact did it," said Brock's boyfriend Kurt Bienmueller. "Wow."
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Bienmueller said he was surprised to learn the holiday lights she recently installed on his house may have been stolen. Deputies removed them Wednesday and hope to return them to their owners.
"She's wonderful, you know, most of the time," Bienmueller said. "And sometimes, I don't know what it is, she's just mean."
Police said they recovered not only stolen Christmas decorations at her home, but other stolen property as well.
Brock has a long criminal history and has served at least three prison sentences.
In August 1994, she was convicted of injuring a child and sentenced to ten years in prison. She was also sentenced to 5 years for credit card abuse, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
In December 2007, she was sentenced to two years in prison for possession of methamphetimine. She served the full sentence, said TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark.
When she was 18 years old, Brock was convicted in Arizona in 1987 of solicitation to commit murder. She served about two years in prison.
Public records also show numerous arrests for theft in cities across North Texas.
Victims of the thefts say they still have their Christmas spirit.
"It hasn't broken our spirit one ounce," said Jon Starnes. "This is just a petty theft and it hasn't killed anything for us."
