'The Nutcracker' stolen: Trailers belonging to Gwinnett County ballet company stolen

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A Gwinnett County ballet company says it's out nearly $20,000 after two of its trailers were stolen. The theft was caught on camera. The trailers contained props, costumes, and other essentials needed for its production of "The Nutcracker.

"It’s a little scary our community is experiencing a little crime wave," Jennifer Gordon, artistic director of Northeast Atlanta Ballet.

The surveillance video shows the moments thieves forced their way onto the property at the Northeast Atlanta Ballet Company and took off with a trailer filled with thousands of dollars’ worth of goods needed to put on the production.

"You come around here, you can see where they cut through our fence. This is a really steep hill, so it wasn’t an easy job for sure, but you can see it’s a pretty large hole, and they parked at the bottom," Gordon said showing where the trailers once were parked.

Gordon says in her 30 years with the company, Monday’s break in and theft is a first.

"They then cut into not just the padlocks, but through the locking mechanism of the first trailer, and emptied out nearly all the contents of the trailer," said Gordon.

They weren’t done.

"A couple of hours later, you see them come around with the same truck, and they back into the parking spot, and they hook up the big 20-foot trailer, and they haul it away," Gordon said.

Props, costumes, a backdrop, and thousands of dollars’ worth of furniture were taken.

"To replace that is about $7,000 to $8,000. It’s a hand-painted piece, and it’s hard to find someone with the skillset for it," Gordon said.

The next morning was a bit of a Christmas miracle.

"Got a call about 9:45 Tuesday morning from Gwinnett County police saying the trailer had been found in the church parking lot and that all of our content was thrown about the muddy field next door," she said.

Pictures show the mess found at another church off Duluth Highway, the trailer stuck in the mud.

Gordon says those behind the robbery are no amateurs.

"They took aircraft cables and just pulled the whole door open. That’s why I think they are professionals," Gordon said.

The company’s surveillance cameras will get an upgrade in case they come back.

"It worries me they might come back and hit the church. That’s why we are being more vigilant and getting cameras up to help each other," Gordon said.

The production of "The Nutcracker" has concluded this year, so they have about 10 months to replace and get ready for next year’s production.

The ballet company has set up a GoFundMe account to help offset the damaged and stolen items.