Several cases of political sign thefts reported in Rockingham County
Over the last few weeks, several instances of the theft of political signs have been reported in Reidsville, Eden and Mayodan.
One of the violators was cited in a larceny case in Reidsville after a resident captured footage of a suspect stealing a sign on his property with a trail camera. The plaintiff reported the incident to the Reidsville Police Department.
On Sept. 16 at 2:48 p.m., David Harrill, 68, of Reidsville, was cited with two misdemeanor counts of 'Remove/etc Political Sign Viol' where a resident had displayed two Vicky Alston signs. Alston is running for reelection for a Rockingham County Board of Education Member, District 1.
Harrill's case went before the Rockingham County Court Oct. 8 and was continued to Nov. 13.
Rockingham County Republican Party Chair Diane Parnell said stolen signs have been an ongoing problem on Freeway Drive in Reidsville as well.
"We can't keep Kevin Berger signs up. It happens every election season, but not nearly as bad as this has been. Freeway Drive in Reidsville was cleaned out at one point of all of the Kevin Berger signs, but we have gone out and put signs back there and then those have disappeared. You have a time period with the board of elections where you can put signs out, so as soon as the board of elections said 'today is the day,' people started putting signs out and it started happening immediately right after that," said Parnell.
Removing signs may seem like a harmless prank to some, but Parnell says it's no laughing matter, and stealing or vandalizing political signs has legal consequences.
"Everyone should have the freedom to have their signs where they want them. Besides it being a misdemeanor to have them taken up, but I don't understand why someone would pull up anyone else's sign," Parnell said.
She said she and some members of her party have taken precautions that could lead to apprehension of any would-be culprit or culprits in the future.
"We have put trackers on some of the Kevin Berger signs, so if people take these, we are going to find out where they are," Parnell said.
Another incident was reported when signs were stolen at the annual "What the Hay Festival" in the town of Mayodan last weekend.
Rockingham County Democratic Party Chair Jeff Webster, a Stoneville resident, reported an incident which occurred sometime between Oct. 11 or Oct. 12 to the Mayodan Police Department.
"We've had reports of signs been taken down, but our big thing was at the "What the Hay Festival" this past Saturday. We had one decorated with Harris – Walz on it, and some signs down in front of it, and someone yanked the cover off of it, and they also removed the signs that we had there too. We have had somebody go out there already and redecorate it," Webster said.
Mayodan Police Chief Timothy Knight said the incident was reported Saturday morning.
"This hay bale was set up in the front lawn of the Madison-Mayodan Recreation Department. We didn't do a report for vandalism — that's when you deface something — we did do a report for larceny however, which means someone actually removed items from the hay bale, which was two political signs and there was some type of signage that was wrapped around the hay bale that had Harris / Walz on it. They just stole it. We haven't had any other cases of these hay bales being damaged or any other political signage being damaged here in town," said Knight.
The Mayodan chief said no one has been charged in connection with this case as of yet, but the incident definitely got the department's attention.
"It is a difficult case to investigate, because as you know, you have to have leads to investigate. Usually, we just check the area first and check any surveillance cameras in the area or talk to any witnesses that come forward. We are treating it like any other larceny that we would investigate, and the biggest thing is just increasing patrol. We patrol that area regularly and that's a pretty populated intersection. We hit that intersection more times a day than any section in town. It is still an open case and if we have any leads to investigate, by all means, we will do so," Knight said.
Lt. David Stepps of the Eden Police Department said there was one report of a sign being taken from the circle in front of the Eden Public Library too. No one has been identified in this case at the time of this report.
Rockingham County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Keven Suthard said he hasn't received any reports of any other incidents in the county, but is are aware of the situation in the region.
"In such a close race, emotions are high, and things have gotten heated, but whether you are a Democrat or Republican, there is no place for this type of thing in our society. There is zero place for that. Just because you don't agree with it doesn't give you the right to destroy it or remove it," Webster said.
Anyone with information regarding the theft of the signs in the county, or witnesses an act of larceny or vandalism, is encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agency.
