with burglary crews operating in Southern California,” Spagon said.

But police don’t know if the two cases are connected or if the culprits are a local group or hail from another country.

Similar cases in Southern California have been linked to burglary tourists from South America who use cameras to spy on residents’ comings and goings and to gauge the best time to break into the victims’ homes. Cameras were found in Arcadia, Alhambra, Glendale, Chino Hills and Temecula last year.

It was about 8:45 p.m. Friday when Nguyen noticed the green light in the bush.

“I thought it was a reflection of some green glass,” he said.

The first thing that came to his mind was a Christmas ornament.

When Nguyen went to grab it, he said it felt mushy and heavy. Thinking it was a dead animal, he used his left foot to kick it out of the bush and realized it was a device. He saw the lens and the green light.

Nguyen covered the lens with his thumb and moved the camera, which he estimated to be 10 inches long and about 4 inches high.

“I had it facing the wall so it wouldn’t see me,” he said.

After he texted his neighbor group about what he found, the neighbors came out and started checking their yards, Nguyen said. No other cameras were found, he said.

Their Ring camera recorded someone walking away from the bush early Thursday morning, Nguyen said.

It’s unknown if this person is connected to the camera. Police had not yet identified the person, Spagon said.

Whoever planted the camera targeted the wrong person, according to Nguyen.

“I’m not afraid to make it public or go on social media,” he said, adding he wanted the word out to make the community aware and to be vigilant.

The Nguyens have cameras, an alarm system, guns, mace and Tasers.

“And we’re not afraid to use them,” he said. “We’re not the type to panic, either.”

Police asked anyone with information about the case to call them at 626-939-8500 and ask for the Detective Bureau.