“On October 13, 2022, East Valley Investigations Detectives arrested a female suspect for petty theft,” according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
“The suspect had been seen on video surveillance stealing political campaign signs from private property within the City of Thousand Oaks.”
News Release – Arrest made in Political Sign Thefts https://t.co/HFI9jeWDcg
— Ventura County Sheriff (@VENTURASHERIFF) October 14, 2022
Thousand Oaks Acorn Editor Kyle Jorrey tweeted: “Carrie Howard of Thousand Oaks, seen here in this photo that has been making the rounds, was arrested on suspicion of petty theft for allegedly stealing campaign signs for the conservative candidates in the Conejo Valley school board race, police announced today.”
According to release: “The suspect had been seen on video surveillance stealing political campaign signs from private property within the City of Thousand Oaks.”
— Kyle Jorrey (@KyleBJorrey) October 14, 2022
The “suspect initially stated that she believed the political signs had been placed illegally and felt she was able to remove the signs. She later admitted that she only took the signs that opposed her political views and admitted to taking additional signs from a second location,” according to the police.
Howard, a substitute teacher in CVUSD, will have to go before a judge. Petty theft carries a max penalty of up to six months in jail and/or a maximum fine of $1,000. This is the first time in my 12 years as editor I can ever remember an arrest made for stealing campaign signs.
— Kyle Jorrey (@KyleBJorrey) October 14, 2022
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office stated in their news release:
The suspect initially stated that she believed the political signs had been placed illegally and felt she was able to remove the signs. She later admitted that she only took the signs that opposed her political views and admitted to taking additional signs from a second location. Ultimately, the signs were recovered from the suspect.
The Thousand Oaks Police Department would like to remind individuals that it is illegal to take political signs and suspects of these crimes will be prosecuted. Additionally, if individuals believe that political signs have been placed illegally or inappropriately, they can report the signs to the City of Thousand Oaks at the following website: www.toaks.org/service .
The Thousand Oaks Police Department would like to thank members of the public for their on-going support by providing information to assist our agency in solving crimes. We are better at what we do because of our community partnerships.
VC Star also covered the story:
Ventura County Sheriff’s detectives arrested a woman this week for allegedly stealing political campaign signs from private property in Newbury Park.
The petty theft arrest prompted the agency to issue a release Friday reminding the public it is illegal to take political signs from someone else’s property. Suspects will be prosecuted, sheriff’s officials warned.
The alleged theft was recorded on surveillance video Monday at a site near Michael Drive and Borchard Road. Detectives with the sheriff’s office, which is contracted to provide police services in Thousand Oaks, arrested the suspect on Wednesday.
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