Stealing campaign signs is no joke

No election season would be complete without a story (or five) on missing campaign signs.

But this one has a slightly different ending than most.

On Wednesday, Mac Herring - who is hoping to retain his Ward 3 seat against challenger Frank Owens - notified media and filed a complaint with the Iredell County Sheriff's Office after noticing several of his signs and a $100+ banner were stolen overnight from private property. Herring said many of his signs have been stolen from yards during the campaign season, but the last straw was his banner being taken from private county property fewer than 24 hours after he had put it up.

Herring said many signs of David Coble, who is challenging Commissioner Rhett Dusenbury for his at-large seat, were also stolen Tuesday night.

A day later, some of the missing signs - and Herring's banner - were found in the back of a pickup truck at a home on West Center Avenue. But this picture was apparently snapped beforehand:

Campaign and church barbecue signs, along with orange construction cones, litter the yard of this West Center Avenue home on Thursday morning. Two sofas were also hoisted into a toilet-papered tree. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

Signs belonging to Herring, Coble, Owens, Dusenbury and Mayor Miles Atkins were apparently stolen to pull off a prank. 

What the pranksters may not have known is that stealing campaign signs is actually no joke. Citing N.C. General Statute 136-32(e), Mooresville Police Capt. Joe Cooke said, instead, "it is Class 3 misdemeanor for a person to steal, deface, vandalize or unlawfully remove a political sign that is lawfully placed ..." 

Cooke said both the Mooresville Police Department and Iredell County Sheriff's Office have opened investigations into the larceny.

For more on this story, click here: Mooresville Weekly or here: Mooresville Tribune.