Arrests made in Fantasy of Lights theft

New Haven (WTNH) - A boyfriend and girlfriend are under arrest for a crime that almost left a holiday tradition in the dark, the Fantasy of Lights.

On a silent night Tuesday there was a hallelujah chorus of light, finally, at New Haven's Lighthouse Point Park.

"We were able to put this entire thing back together again," Edwin Seals said. "We've been out here nights. It's up and running. It's ready to go."

Seals wasn't so confident a week ago. Things were looking a bit dark. His Easter Seals Fantasy of Lights project was in jeopardy. Someone had taken hundreds of feet of copper cable used to power more than a dozen light displays for the annual holiday fundraiser. But Christmas came early, holiday packages in the form of donated wire and money.

"Today, we received a check from an elderly woman for five dollars saying that she wished she could have done more, and it was all the result of the 'Grinch' that tried to steal the holiday season," Seals said.

It turns out there were two Grinches. Tuesday, police arrested David John Tobey, 27, and his girlfriend Amy Folland, 30, both of Branford.

"The New Haven Police Department has been outstanding," Seals said. "We called them, they tackled this thing immediately. They have been relentless in trying to figure out who did this."

So an electric wintry fairyland is back in business. For Easter Seals, making the season bright is as simple as flipping a switch.

"It's just not the thing to steal from period, but to steal from an organization like this from my point of view is inexcusable," Seals said.

Tobey and Folland were charged with larceny and conspiracy.