YORK COUNTY, Va. — A Yorktown homeowner is speaking out after she said multiple people have stolen or vandalized campaign signs on her property.
"I'm angry. This is the sixth time that a sign has been stolen, and yes, I've got a trail camera up there," said homeowner Pam Pouchot.
Pouchot said she is fed up with people stealing campaign signs from her property. On Friday, someone stole a Harris-Walz sign from her yard. She had several other campaign signs stolen previously.
"Today was the first time I got a Harris-Walz because they were hard to come by, and of course, it was put out 5:26 last night. So it made it 26 hours, maybe 25 hours," said Pouchot.
She said a surveillance video captured multiple people stealing signs from her yard in September.
"I'm an independent," Pouchot said. "I am not a Democrat or a Republican. But I am supporting these particular candidates this go around, and I would just like to be able to have my sign out without it being destroyed, torn up or stolen."
The York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office recently posted a picture asking for the public's help identifying this man who stole a Harris sign off of Pouchot's property.
Sheriff Ron Montgomery said he has never seen a property targeted multiple times for campaign signs, but if the suspects are captured, there will be consequences.
"These charges are petty larceny because the signs were valued at less than a thousand dollars, so that's up to 12 months in jail and up to including a $2,500 fine or a combination of both," Montgomery said. "If you were to steal more than a thousand dollars worth of signs at any one time, than you'd be looking at a felony in Virginia."
Montgomery encourages people to report these crimes if they happen to them. Meanwhile, Pouchot has a message for those who continue to violate her property.
"They think that they have the right to do this. Hey, people out there, you don't have the right. It's against the law, and hopefully, you'll pay the price for it if you do it," said Pouchot.
Montgomery said the department has arrested two people for the thefts in Yorktown and is looking for the other offenders.
Meanwhile, Representative Jen Kiggans posted a video on 'X' showing a person stealing signs off a property in Virginia Beach. She said, in part, "This kind of politics is not who we are."