The vandal almost got away with it.
A squirrel has been "charged" in its alleged attempt to dampen the holiday spirit after he damaged some popular Christmas lights in a New Jersey town.
Sea Girt police initially believed the vandal was a human and acted quickly to fix the damaged wires in time for the borough's annual tree lighting on Friday, reports said.
But, not long after the damage was done, police stumbled upon the true criminal — a squirrel. Police posted photos of the furry vandal chewing on the Christmas light wires.
"The Sea Girt Police Department is proud to report that the case of our broken holiday lights has been solved," the department said in a press release. "We are happy that no human acted as a Grinch in this incident.”
The squirrel was then “charged” with criminal mischief and released on bail.
His next court date has yet to be scheduled, but police are hoping he’s learned his lesson.
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