Flower Caper: Woman Caught Stealing Truckload of Residents' Plants

A flower caper was a thorn in the side of New Lenox residents early Tuesday morning, but a woman was eventually caught with a truck filled with plants she's accused of stealing from yards. 

got a call from a resident in the 1600 block of Briarcrest Drive at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. She said she heard a noise outside and awoke to find one of her hosta plants missing. 

About 15 minutes later and a bit farther south, in the Palmer Ranch subdivision, resident Don Carston was getting ready to leave for work and noticed a woman with a shovel going into his neighbors' yards and digging up flowers. 

A Cook County law enforcement official, Carston took the keys out of the woman's ignition and called the police. 

His wife, Beth Carston, said on the phone Tuesday that the woman had an entire truckload of flowers—hanging baskets, planters, uprooted plants and more. 

According to Carston, it appeared the woman was in a night gown. 

"I'm still shocked," she said. "It's very odd." 

When police questioned the woman about what was in her truck, she said she bought them at Walmart, Carston said.

Sharon Hudson, 47, of the 2100 block of Bigby Lane in New Lenox, was charged with theft. 

Beth Carston said police were working to find the homeowners to whom the plants belonged and that they took photos of everything in the truck. 

"We all have nice yards and we're all concerned about them," Beth Carston said. "We spend a lot of money on those things. They were not cheap."