Reporter charged in Redwood City theft of sign

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Nov 8, 2007 | by Michael Manekin

REDWOOD CITY -- A veteran Bay Area radio traffic reporter allegedly caught snatching a Burlingame City Council candidate's campaign sign will be prosecuted by the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Joe McConnell, a traffic broadcaster for Metro Networks, heard across Bay Area airwaves on such stations at KGO-AM and KQED-FM, is being charged with a petty theft infraction, County District Attorney Jim Fox said Wednesday.

"We believe what he did constituted a theft," said Fox. "The candidates have spent money to have their signs printed, and their friends and neighbors have agreed to post signs on their property.

"That's a form of free speech," he added. "The candidates shouldn't have to replace signs that are being stolen by political opponents."

McConnell is accused of stealing a campaign sign advertising Gene Condon, one of three candidates who lost the City Council election to Terry Nagel and Jerry Deal.

McConnell -- a supporter of Deal and husband of Geraldine O'Connor, co-chair of Deal's campaign -- was allegedly caught stealing the sign by Condon himself.

Police detained and questioned McConnell following the incident on the night of Oct. 8 but did not cite or arrest him. The alleged theft occurred on a property on California Drive near Rosedale Avenue, not far from McConnell's home.

McConnell previously told MediaNews he had removed the sign because Condon's signs "are a blight on the neighborhood, just as he would be a blight on City Council."

Several days later, McConnell recanted, explaining that the sign theft was "a foolish, juvenile thing" and that he had called Condon to apologize.

A spokesman for the district attorney's office said last week that prosecutors had already made a decision whether to prosecute the alleged crime.

However, they were waiting until the end of the election to announce the decision in order to avoid influencing the Burlingame contest.

The spokesman said that McConnell's act would be considered misdemeanor theft, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

However, the fact that McConnell is a first-time offender and the value of the sign he allegedly stole is less than $50 led prosecutors to charge the traffic reporter with merely an infraction, Fox said.

The infraction is similar to a traffic ticket, he said. McConnell will receive instructions in the mail to appear in court in South San Francisco. If he wants to contest the charges, he will not be entitled to a jury trial but will have to appear before a judge.

The criminal charge against McConnell represents the first time that the district attorney's office has prosecuted anyone for sign theft -- or for that matter, anyone -- under any violation of the Penal Code for elections-related crimes, said Fox.

County prosecutors have occasionally prosecuted individuals for violations under the Elections Code, including several individuals over the past 20 years who have falsified their home address to qualify for an elected seat, according to Fox.

Asked if prosecutors are going after McConnell to send a message to would-be campaign-sign stealers, Fox said his office hopes the charges would be "a deterrent so that that people will not engage in this type of behavior."

McConnell, who declined comment last week about the impending charges, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Contact Michael Manekin at 650-348-4331 or mmanekin@sanmateocountytimes.com.