More On Sign Theft

I'm told there was a spate of K-E sign thefts — well over a hundred stolen — earlier this week just south of me, in Pinecrest.

The Washington Post says that sign theft is running at normal levels nationwide, except for Ohio and Florida, where it's stratospheric (and, says the Post, bipartisan).

The all-time best sign stealing story, however, is this one:

A Republican in Colorado fell flat on his face trying to steal campaign signs touting John Kerry and other local Democratic candidates.

According to Wheat Ridge Police spokesperson Officer Lisa Stigall, Randal Wagner was already wanted for questioning about a rash of campaign-sign thefts when he was discovered lying unconscious across a stolen sign Oct. 13.

Earlier that evening, a homeowner reported to police that he saw Wagner, 50, cutting down a campaign sign bolted to his fence. The sign was in support of a local Democratic candidate running for Congress.

The man confronted Wagner, who allegedly fled in a truck with his wife. The man gave the vehicle's plate number to police.

While police located the Wagners' home, Wagner was busy at work on another sign put up by a store in the business district, Stigall said.

But he encountered resistance.

“He already had the sign in hand and was running out of the parking lot when he tripped over a low chain that blocked off the driveway,” Stigall said.

Wagner fell flat on his face and was knocked unconscious.