Call it a sign of these intensely political times.

Roseville Police on Tuesday arrested three people in on suspicion of stealing dozens of Yes on 8 signs from local lawns, officials said.

Kacey Elizabeth Flieder, 18, of Sacramento, Brian Joseph Greene, 18, of Roseville, and a 17-year-old girl from Roseville were arrested early Tuesday on suspicion of possessing stolen property, conspiracy and petty theft.

“There’s an unusual degree of interest and passion about this election,” Police Spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said. “We just need to remember it’s fine to express political views, but you have to do it within law.”

At about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, authorities say a police officer on routine patrol spotted a sedan parked with its doors and trunk opened on the 700 block of Shasta Street. After watching someone put something in the trunk, the officer began to follow the vehicle.

Minutes later, police dispatched a call with the description of a vehicle suspected of involvement in stealing lawn signs. A resident had called in the description after seeing someone steal his neighbor’s political sign.

The officer stopped the vehicle, and a search turned up 53 yard signs, all Yes on 8.

The incident is was the biggest yard-sign bust in a political season rife with reports of people snatching the signs, known officially as “temporary noncommercial signs.”

“We always have some complaints about political signs being taken, but I don’t know if we’ve ever seen this volume,” Gunther said.

Other political signs have also been reported stolen, though Yes on 8 has been the most frequently cited, she said.

“We’ve had least one call about an Obama sign being taken,” she said.

Reports from around the state indicate signs for and against Proposition 8, which would amend California’s constitution to ban gay marriage, have both been targeted.

It’s not the first time the issue of gay marriage has resulted in people expressing their opinions through stealing signs. Numerous reports of sign theft on both sides also surfaced in 2000, over the similarly contentious Proposition 22, which also sought to ban gay marriage.

But the days of lawn signs of every stripe are numbered. Officials say they must be taken down within 10 days after the election. Not doing so is a violation of the municipal code.

Flieder and Greene were also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Flieder was booked into the Roseville Police Department Jail and released on $5,000 bail. Green remains in custody in the RPD jail on $5,000 bail.

The 17-year-old suspect was cited and released to her parents.

By Nathan Donato-Weinstein
Roseville Press-Tribune
LINK to full article.