Stop sign theft is 'not a joke'

MARGARETTA TWP. — Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth has a message for people thinking about stealing stop signs: Don't. "It's not a joke," he said. "It's not a prank." A Margaretta Township road department crew installed a new stop sign Tuesday morning. The sign for the southbound lane of Maple Avenue at Heywood Road was missing, apparently stolen. Sigsworth said people who steal stop signs can face myriad penalties. The Ohio Revised Code makes it a third-degree misdemeanor to, "knowingly move, deface, damage, destroy, or otherwise improperly tamper with any traffic control device." If the violation creates a risk of physical harm to a person, the charge is elevated to a first-degree misdemeanor. Stealing a stop sign can also land a person a theft charge. If a traffic crash fatality occurs due to a stolen stop sign, the person who took the sign could be charged with manslaughter. The offender also opens himself up to civil liability as well. A stolen stop sign in Berlin Township in 1983 led to a man's death. Aladino Santiago, 53, was killed after his motorcycle struck a car at the intersection of Huff and Arlington roads, according to a 1983 Register article. A car driven by a 16-year-old boy entered the intersection from Huff Road, as the stop sign for westbound traffic was stolen. Santiago was taken to Sandusky Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Five youths implicated in the sign's theft pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, were fined and placed on probation. "We have many visitors on our area roads who are not familiar with the intersections," Sigsworth said. "They may not realize that a stop sign is missing. If a stop sign is stolen, even a local motorist could fail to stop at an intersection." "Theft of a stop sign creates a tremendous danger," Sigsworth said. "Don't create that risk."