Street sign theft

[SickBlackMach]

This is more of a curiosity thing for me...

The other night, I was driving to the local Meijer to grab some boxes for a move.

I saw 2 guys walking through the entrance with a street sign being pretty loud. Well, I almost lost it laughing when, 2 LEO's that just happened to be there sqauked them and shined the spot light on the 2 guys.

I couldn't hear much beyond the one LEO asking "Where did you get that sign?" followed shortly by "Oh, so you found it on the ground?" and a "Come over here so I can talk to you." I thought that was pretty funny, I could only imagine what the guys were saying to the LEOs present.

It got me thinking... I know it's theft, I'm curious since it's not personal property, what would be the fine/infraction?

 

[1967eleanor]

its property of the state/township/city.

so i would guess to say its a crime

 

[mcaligiuri]

when i was 16 i took on ewith my friends we got caught and detained at the local precinct it never got put on my record but i learned my lesson

 

[mysticalsnake]

if i remember correctly from talking to other LEO's and overhearing things here and there, you could get slapped with something along the lines of defacing _________ Property (City, State, Goverment, etc...) and/or theft of _________ property. Either of which, depending on several different variables could lead to jail time.

 

[oldmodman]

When I was in high school everyone had "found" a street sign somewhere that had their name on it. Los Angeles is a big area, had most names covered.

Right near my house is a street name with EVERY sign was missing along it's length.

Oh yeah, the name was "STONER"

 

[Scout238]

its still theft just as private persons, but the victim would be the state/county/city that owns the property. There may be an enhancement for street signs or such, but that would be something extra

 

[Scout238]

Any idea how much a street sign is worth? Or cost to manufacture?

 

[Iceman II]

Theft has several penalty ranges, depending on the dollar range. I would say at the very least it would be a class B misdemeanor. The $50 to $500 range, punishment is a $2000 and or 6 months in jail.

 

[jshen]

In GA it is a Felony to "interfere" with govt property. Even if found- it's called Theft of Lost/Mislaid property as official traffic control devices are commonly made/used only by govt.

 

[JohninMD]

I thought I read an article a few years back where some kids stole stop signs, that same night a lady ran where one was stolen and hit and killed a family going through the intersection. When they found the kids that had stolen the signs they were charged with manslaughter.

Sort of like the law that says if you commit a crime and someone dies even if you didnt pull the trigger(or actually cause the death or whatever) you can get charged for the murder.

 

[jake01cobra]

When I was in high school everyone had "found" a street sign somewhere that had their name on it. Los Angeles is a big area, had most names covered.

Right near my house is a street name with EVERY sign was missing along it's length.

Oh yeah, the name was "STONER"

in culver city? tht street always makes me laugh @ the name

 

[SUPERCHARGEDV8]

there was one street nearby called canal...i always wanted to cover up the letter c...lol

 

[VirtualSVT]

Yeah I got caught with some friends taking a sign for a town in east orlando called Taintsville......

We were 16 and the sheriff just laughed at us about it...said it was common and he escorted us to the county line.

 

[Silver2003Cobra]

there was a road called "Bear Pass Road".. you can imagine how often the "P" was painted over.. they finally changed the name of the road to Deer Creek Road..

and.. hmmm, signs make for good aluminum siding, if you have enough of them..

 

[TJSwoboda]

when i was 16 i took on ewith my friends we got caught and detained at the local precinct it never got put on my record but i learned my lesson

You took on ewith? Wow, here in Nevada taking on ewith is a serious felony, and seeing as your friends were involved with this act of taking on ewith you'd get nailed with conspiracy, too. You got off light.

Seriously, what did you do?

 

[Zinc03Cobra]

here in Sacramento, we have the sign "Ocean city, Maryland" 3098 miles or something like that...

that sign gets stolen all the time.

If you're ever east bound I80... you'll see it

 

[FNsweetS3]

here in Sacramento, we have the sign "Ocean city, Maryland" 3098 miles ...

that sign gets stolen all the time.

If you're ever east bound I80... you'll see it

We have the same sign on this side... but it says Sacramento 3089....

http://www.route50.com/sign_battle_saga.htm

 

[JBR87]

I think the ultimate sign anywhere is exit 69-big beaver rd. off of I-75 in michigan...

but i think it's like a federal offence in canada sumthing like removal of roadway safety device but i'm not sure

 

[Juruense]

I think the fine would be far less that what the municipality will charge them to repair or replace the sign they removed.

All told I am guessing they will be out a couple grand each including fines and restitution.

 

[Sublimize23]

Near my house, there's a Mary Jane Lane sign that got stolen all the time. They replaced it with a wood carved sign.