Police investigating political sign theft

    Murphy – A sign vandal may have made a critical mistake that could lead to criminal charges.
    Someone stole and vandalized one of Cherokee County Commissioner C.B. McKinnon’s re-election signs last week, using spray-paint to alter the sign to say, “Fire C.B. McKinnon.”
    However, the vandal left a fingerprint in the wet spray paint used to deface the property. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is in the process of trying to match the print against the database of fingerprints the department has on file.
    “There is a fingerprint there, but keep in mind a print is only good if it’s on file somewhere,” Chief Deputy Joe Wood said. “If there’s nothing in our local system, the odds are very slim that the state crime lab would take their time to run it through their system.”
    McKinnon said something similar happened to him during a previous election, but he’s not going to let it go unchecked this time.
    “Last time, they caught three people red-handed with my signs,” he said. “The worst mistake I ever made was not prosecuting them.”
    McKinnon said this latest sign was stolen from near Interstate Lane in Marble and later moved to a spot near Tomotla Road. Someone spray painted the word “Fire” over the word “Elect.” His reason for wanting to catch the culprit extends beyond the cost of the sign.
    “It’s not just about a $6 sign,” he said. “It’s about people who for years have been defacing, destroying and stealing signs that are intended to inform people about who’s running to represent them. They’re messing with the people’s ability to make a decision on an election, and that’s a problem.”
    Law enforcement officials say this happens more often than people realize.
    “This happens in every election,” District Attorney Ashley Welch said. “A lot of people don’t realize that this is a crime, but it is a misdemeanor to steal or deface a political sign.”