Burglar stole gifts from under Christmas tree, cops say

Suffolk police said they are searching for a burglar who slipped inside a West Islip home Monday afternoon and stole several wrapped presents from under a Christmas tree.

The thief broke into the home on Milligan Lane between 2 and 6 p.m.

Homeowner Susan Muller told News 12 Long Island that the burglar broke in through the bathroom window.

Muller said he took slippers, a knife set and “an ornament for a little boy.”

“It’s tenfold worse because it’s Christmas, because you want to believe that people are good,” Muller said. “Definitely the Grinch hit home this year.”

Muller told News 12 she forgot to turn on her alarm, and now she plans to install security cameras and get a dog.

Police said that wasn’t the only place hit in the neighborhood Monday: A burglar stole jewelry from a home on Pease Lane between noon and 8 p.m.

The two homes are near each other — about a block and a half away — but police don’t believe the two thefts are related.

Detectives are investigating both cases, they said.