Busted!
A man is charged with misdemeanor theft after two ladies spotted him yanking political signs out of the ground outside Keller Town Hall.
The man is 59-year-old Walter Brown and investigators say he drove straight to the Keller Police Department to turn himself in.
Brown told police he thought the signs were litter. He posted a $371 bond and is already out of jail.
The women who caught him said it's one more sign of an election season gone haywire and they weren't about to let him get away with it.
A colorful campaign sign was the last chance to catch a voter's eye as they headed in to cast their ballot. So Josie Contrerasn said she has posted as many as she can, every day this week.
"Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.," said Contreras.
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But Thursday morning, something else caught Stacy Land's eye outside Keller Town Hall.
"He started pulling these signs off of these stands and then just putting them under his arm and he was taking them just one by one, just putting them under his arm," said Land. She confronted the man.
"Then he just turned and ran," she said.
The signs belonged to Contreras and Land snapped photos while Contreras pleaded for them back.
"I said I paid for four Trump signs, that's $40. I'm retired I can't afford that, please give me back my signs," Contreras said.
When he refused, they called the police.
"I was standing there to try to take a picture and he almost hit me,” said Land. “I jumped out of the way and he just took off."
Brown returned the eight signs after turning himself in; all but one were for Republican candidates including State Representative Giovanni Capriglione.
"I'm disappointed but not surprised," said Capriglione.
“He had pulled the Trump signs, he went for them first,” added Land.
She and Contreras think it was politically motivated.
“It’s so disappointing that it’s come to this,” said Land. "That's not what you have to do. Just go in here and vote. That's what you need to do and if somebody you know is not voting, they need to rethink their decision and come vote. That's how you get your voice heard."
Keller Town Hall is one of the most popular polling places in Tarrant County and police have increased patrols there during early voting.
