3 Students Not Such Wise Men, Admit Nativity Theft

Yes indeed, nothing is sacred anymore.

Not with the theft last week of the baby Jesus from the Nativity scene in American Legion Park in Colton, Wash.

Police said three Washington State University students confessed to the crime Tuesday after officers, acting on an anonymous tip, visited an apartment off Stadium Way in Pullman and saw the figure affixed to the top of a Christmas tree.

The names of the students, all 19 years old and residents of the Providence Court apartment complex, were being withheld pending formal charges by the Whitman County prosecutor’s office. Possible charges are possession of stolen property and third-degree theft, said Colton Town Marshal Bill Pewitt.

The students told police they had swiped the figure while passing through town Dec. 11, Pewitt said.

“It wasn’t a hate/bias crime or anything like that,” he said. “No religious overtones. Just a prank.”

Still, residents of the largely Catholic farm community, who pay for the display with private donations, were outraged at the theft.

“They were very happy to get it back and very angry when it was missing,” Pewitt said.

With the exception of a broken light fixture that might not have been working at the time of the theft, the $50 Jesus was unharmed.

Police also discovered a large cache of hard liquor while visiting the students’ apartment, said Sgt. Chris Tennant. Because none of the three is of legal drinking age, the students emptied the bottles at the suggestion of officer Mike Austin.

“Their holiday spirits were a little drained,” Tennant said.

, DataTimes