Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Stealing lawn signs

Today me and my friend took like 20 Mccain signs from people's lawns. yeah yeah yeah so sue me. but anyways. One of the people got our license and the police came to my house and I gave him all the signs. He didn't give me any sort of citation or anything but he said if the DA decides to charge us we might have a fine or probation. He said if we dont get a letter in the mail in 30 or 45 days then they decided it wasn;t even worth charging. The signs are usually free or 5 dolalrs so at the most it was a 100 dollars worth of signs. The officer said this was very common. I was thinking we're not going to get charged but if we do he said it would be for petty theft. What's your opinions? Please no replies talking about political stuff I really just want to know about my question. not here to argue.


Asked on 10/29/08, 4:08 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Stealing lawn signs

It sounds like your are guilty of multiple petty thefts. That the signs are free or inexpensive does not mean you were entitled to take them. You probably also committed multiple acts of trespass when you stole them.

Prosecutors are often too busy to pursue cases like this, but then most thieves are smart enough not to admit their crimes to the police and hand over the evidence. Going after you will be a lot less work than would going after someone who had kept his mouth shut, so there is less reason for the D.A. to let this one slide. There is a good chance you will be charged, but there is no way to say what the odds are. If you are prosecuted, you and your lawyer will have a very hard time defending against the charges.

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Answered on 10/29/08, 12:44 pm


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