Neighbor keeps gifts given by mistake

ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) - John Robinson and his wife Teresa have five children and five grandchildren they wanted to have gifts for this Christmas.

It looked like, through the generosity of the Salvation Army Angel Tree, gifts for all their kids and grandkids would be possible.

John Robinson doesn't hide his past or how he became connected with the Angel Tree. He was in prison for the past two-and-a-half years and became connected with the organization while there.

But he was unexpectedly released early from prison after he was told a class he took cut six months off his sentence.

By the time he found out he would be out in time for Christmas he had already filled out the forms for the gifts and was told they would still be delivered.

Which they were, just to the wrong house.

Robinson was told the delivery men had put the presents in an "inside porch" at a blue house.

The problem is Robinson's house is not blue.

He went outside looked down the road and saw a blue house two houses away from his.

Robinson went to talk with the woman at the blue house.

"She said, 'Yeah. I woke up and there was a whole bunch of stuff on my porch and I gave it to my son,'" he told 24 Hour News 8. "And I said, 'What about the gift cards?' because I talked to the (Angel Tree) lady (and) she said there was a lot of gift cards for my girls and my grandchildren. And (the neighbor) said, 'I spent all those.' I was like, do you have any of the stuff left so I can get it back. She was like, no, I don't have anything, you can call the police if you want to."

Robinson said the gifts came wrapped with the names of the intended recipients on the tag, so his neighbor would have known they weren't for her.

Allegan police came out but couldn't do anything because there was no crime committed.

When 24 Hour News 8 attempted to talk to the neighbor, a man came out and claimed it wasn't the neighbor woman's fault.

"You guys need to leave, it was a mistake. It wasn't her fault," the man told 24 Hour News 8, adding, "She is not going to talk to you."

The man said the woman's son had opened the presents. When asked if she spent the gift cards, the man said she could not read them.

Robinson's wife called a woman who had been helping them track down what happened to the gifts and told her what happened.

"She was very upset, so she went to Holland to Walmart and she put a gift card in there for my wife to buy my grandchildren some presents," Robinson said.

The gift certificate was for $200.

On Christmas morning all five kids and five grandchildren will have at least one gift to open.

Robinson said if he could say anything to the woman helper, whom he has never met, he would tell her, "Thank you, God bless you, and you are a great person. She is."