Saturday, October 30, 2004

Sign-theft silliness

Another funny sign-theft story:
Homemade security catches act on tape

This involves a man in Encinitas, Calif., who put up a big Kerry/Edwards sign on his property. He also set up a security system in case someone decided to mess with it:
A man triggered the alarm and light Tuesday just before midnight as he ripped the sign, which is highly visible to traffic on Encinitas Boulevard, from the wall, according to an incident report filed with the Sheriff's Department.

Nolan said the man dropped the sign after realizing it was firmly attached to the structure by a thick rope, then jumped a fence and jogged south onto North Vulcan Avenue.

As neighbors called the Sheriff's Department, Nolan said, he chased the man, caught up to him near Vulcan and Encinitas Boulevard, grabbed his arm, then tackled him and "sat on him until the police got there."

The suspect, whom the sheriff's report identified as Jessie Irvin Mathews, 22, of Vista, initially told deputies that Nolan had "jumped him and tried to rape him" for no apparent reason, Nolan said.

One problem with that: Mathews was caught on camera pulling the banner off the garage and starting to run away with it, according to the incident report.

After viewing the tape, deputies transported Mathews to their Encinitas station and cited him for attempted petty theft.

Nolan, 40, said he "had a pretty good feeling" he would catch someone in the act and was overjoyed that his homemade security system did its job.

"It's my Republican trap," he said.

Add this to the collection.

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