Campaign sign thefts spur arrest

By Doug SmeathDeseret Morning News
A Riverton man was cited Thursday after he was accused of stealing the campaign signs of a Republican candidate for Salt Lake County district attorney. Police say the man, accused of class B misdemeanor theft, took down signs for Republican district attorney candidate Lohra Miller throughout Riverton and South Jordan. The police report says the man was pulled over by officers after a caller reported seeing him take the signs and gave his license plate number to South Jordan police. A police report says the man told police he took the signs because he believed posting them was illegal in Riverton and South Jordan. According to the report, police asked him why he didn't report the signs rather than taking them down himself. He is quoted in the report as saying, "I really don't have a good reason for stealing the signs. The only way I can explain it is I am a sign Nazi."

The man's name is the same as a former Riverton City Council member who has contributed $250 to the campaign of Miller's opponent, Democrat Sim Gill, a Salt Lake City prosecutor. But the former councilman, Tim Heaton, when contacted by the Deseret Morning News on Saturday evening, said he had not been given a citation, had not been stealing signs and was completely unfamiliar with the incident. He also denied having posted a comment on the OneUtah.org political blog endorsing Gill as "a fantastic attorney and a top legal mind." The blog comment was posted under the the name "Tim Heaton" and ended with the words, "Signed a former politician in Riverton." Blog comments can typically be posted under any identification the poster chooses, and names and identities are rarely verified by blog owners. The police report obtained by the Deseret Morning News had all of the man's identifying information, including birth date and address, blacked out with a marker. Only his name was shown. Gill said he had not heard of the citation but said he "would be really shocked" if the former councilman was to blame. He said Miller had called him earlier and reported that a number of her signs had gone missing but that "I have no idea who it is." Gill said many of his signs have been stolen as well. "Whoever does it, they ought to be punished. It's not fair to anyone," Gill said. "If someone's vandalizing somebody's property, wrong is wrong. ... It's happened to me, and I didn't appreciate it. I wouldn't wish it on anyone." Miller, an attorney with a private firm, agreed that having signs stolen is frustrating. She told the Deseret Morning News she had no comment on whether she suspected the signs were being stolen by a Gill supporter or whether she believed the Gill campaign was involved. The winner in the November election will replace David Yocom, a Democrat who is not seeking re-election.
E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com