Text 3457, 48 rader
Skriven 2004-10-14 22:12:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Sign
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002062675_signs14e.html

Men save signs for Bush in stakeout

By Ashley Bach
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

According to two Mercer Island men, signs supporting President Bush are an
endangered species. Within days of going up in the affluent neighborhood, the
signs disappear.

So there the men were this week, camped in the dark woods with lawn chairs and
a video camera, waiting for the thieves to strike.

It only took three hours. At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, a 25-year-old Mercer Island
man walked to a grassy area along the 6700 block of Island Crest Way and began
to pull up Bush signs installed by the two men, police said.

The amateur detectives burst out of the woods and confronted the man, who was
apologetic. The men detained him until police arrived.

The man was arrested and released on suspicion of third-degree theft, a
misdemeanor, said Mercer Island police Sgt. Lance Davenport.

The two Bush supporters said they set up the stakeout after 60 of their signs
were stolen on the island last week. One of the men, who did not want to be
identified for fear of reprisals by Kerry supporters, said the anti-Bush
sentiment in the neighborhood is extreme and angry.

"They're entirely within their rights to protect their investment and make sure
their views are protected," said Ross Marzolf, executive director of the King
County Republican Party, which gave the men new signs.

The men had bought 60 signs for $350 through the Bush campaign Web site and put
them up last week. A day later the signs were gone, and a handful of other
signs put up over the next several days also disappeared, the men said.

So the men and another friend headed into the woods, about 25 yards away from
several new signs. The friend soon bailed out, but the other two men stayed
behind and expected to wait most of the night.

"They had just gotten sick of dealing with the [thefts]," Davenport said. "They
had had enough."

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com

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