A father is caught stealing hundreds of pounds of avocados to fund his kids' Christmas presents.

Deputies spotted Edel Perez, 29, picking avocados inside a fenced, No Trespassing-posted grove in southwest Miami-Dade around 3:10 a.m. on December 22, 2025. His Mercedes trunk was packed with avocados, and deputies estimated he had taken about 400 pounds worth roughly $800. Perez, who said he was unemployed, told deputies he planned to sell the fruit to buy Christmas presents for his two children. He was charged with grand theft and trespassing on an agricultural site, with bond set at $5,000.