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Sign Theft or Litter Removal
Portsmouth, New Hampshire—Police in this small New Hampshire city arrested John Decker of Stratham, New Hampshire, in August when he stole a small handwritten billboard valued at $350 that advertised hot tubs and spas.
Decker has a reputation for taking down handwritten signs that he does not think legally belong along roadsides in his and adjoining towns. He interprets the signs as litter and removes them.
The local police department does not have an issue with the sign placement. They explained that the zoning board addresses those issues. But the police finally arrested Decker after years of him taking down signs he simply does not want to see along the roadsides.
“I checked the littering statute, and it identifies litter as any bottles, glass, crockery, cans, scrap metal, junk paper, garbage, old autos or auto parts, refuse or noxious items,” Deputy Portsmouth Police Chief Len DiSesa said to a local newspaper. “The theft was of a $350 sign, and we don’t feel it qualifies as litter. It still belonged to someone, and that’s the issue.
“I would argue that a sign advertising a service may not be litter. We are not taking a position as to whether they are eyesores or not. We got a complaint about a criminal act, investigated it and decided to pursue it.”
The police arrested Decker for theft of a sign. Decker and his supporters make littering the issue. Those of you old enough to remember the song “Alice’s Restaurant” might recall that the song’s protagonist was arrested for littering, which then gave him a criminal record and prevented him from entering the U.S. Army.
Decker sees the irony, too.
“I had a thought,” Decker told a New Hampshire daily newspaper reporter. “Say I am arrested, there is a trial, and I am convicted; if I am assigned to do community service—maybe cleaning away roadside litter—what do I do if I come to one of the signs?”
Decker, who was away on vacation when the police issued the arrest warrant, came home to a phone call from the local police who explained they had a warrant for his arrest for sign theft. Officer Andre Wassouf called Decker to tell him about the pending arrest. Decker told a reporter, “He wasn’t going to be on duty again until Saturday, so I agreed to meet with him. He told me to bring $30.”
On August 28 in a Portsmouth District Court, Decker was arraigned on a Class B misdemeanor charge of “theft by unauthorized taking.” The charge of a fine of up to $1,200. Decker pleaded “not guilty” and is currently awaiting a trial date.
—Bruce Amaro
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