Mayor Dan DePaul had at least 15 of his campaign signs stolen earlier this week from lawns of supporters.
They were recovered today, found by Sgt. Bud Shaw of the Wilson Police Department. They were discovered behind the K-Mart on 25th Street, as he patrolled the area.
Sgt. Shaw filed a report with his department.
When the signs first went missing people in the area were asked if they saw anyone take the signs and a witness was found, according to DePaul.
“The witness was outside in the early morning hours, smoking a cigarette, because they don’t smoke inside. They recognized the vehicle and the person who took a sign,” said DePaul. He withheld the name of his witness, to protect the person from possible harassment.
DePaul believes the person identified by his witness was responsible for all the thefts, as all the signs went missing on the same morning, and all were found in the same area behind K-Mart, divided in 3 different piles.
DePaul disclosed video evidence is also being sought from homes that may have security systems, or door “Ring” cameras, before moving forward. He intends to pursue the matter and seek criminal charges through the NorCo District Attorney, but will wait until those charges are filed, before disclosing who the alleged thief is.
DePaul, who has served as Mayor since 2018, after serving as Council President, is running for re-election. His opponent in the Democrat Primary is Councilman Ken Decker, Jr., who was appointed to Council in January, 2020.
It should be noted Councilman Decker is not the person identified by the witness, as only an idiot would be stupid enough to steal campaign signs, considering the consequences.
The punishment for removing, destroying, or defacing campaign signs, a 3rd Degree Misdemeanor, is up to 1 year in jail and/or a $2500 fine for each offense. Additional charges of criminal trespass can be added, if the sign(s) were removed from private property without permission.
This post has been updated to provide additional clarification and remove possible inaccurate conjecture by readers.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
