Sign-stealing case continued without a finding

By Nick Grabbe
Staff Writer

Published on August 17, 2007

AMHERST - The case against an 18-year-old man charged with stealing 75 "No More Overrides" lawn signs 10 days before an election was continued without a finding in Eastern Hampshire District Court Monday.

Ryon W. Bourdon of 170 East Hadley Road, Apt. 20, will have to pay $50 in fines and restitution in an amount to be determined, but if he stays out of trouble for six months, he won't face further consequences, according to court officials. There will be a hearing Sept. 13 on reimbursement of the value of the signs.

That punishment is too lenient, considering the seriousness of the charges, said two members of Amherst Taxpayers for Responsible Change, which put up the signs. Bourdon should have been required to make a public apology and perform community service, they said.

The 75 signs, about half the number that override opponents placed on lawns on April 20, were reported missing from all parts of town on April 21 and 22. On May 1, voters defeated a $2.5 million tax override.

Many of the missing signs were later located at Amherst Regional High School, where they had been dumped and the word "no" cut out.

Joseph Chagnon of 610 West Street, one of the residents who reported missing signs, found a cellphone and a pack of cigarettes on his property. That information led police to Bourdon, said Lt. Ronald Young.

Chagnon will receive the $500 reward that Amherst Taxpayers for Responsible Change offered for information on the case, said Stanley Gawle of the group. The cost of the signs was $238.50, which the group will seek to recover, he said. "This was more serious than the act of taking the signs," Gawle said. "He was trying to interfere with the political process. This kind of thing should not be happening."

The motivation for Bourdon's actions appeared to be mischief, Young said. But he attempted to justify the theft by expressing concern about the impact on the schools if the override was defeated, Young said.

In an interview with police, Bourdon admitted to taking some of the signs but refused to name any accomplices, according to court documents.

"He stated his involvement was politically motivated as he wanted passage of the override," Sgt. Christopher Pronovost wrote in a police report. Supporters of the override denounced the theft of their opponents' signs.

Larry Kelley, who helped put up the signs, said it's not unusual for political campaigns to lose 10 percent of them, but a 50 percent loss in one night was unusual.

"He was impinging on our freedom of speech," Kelley said. "That's like book-burning, and there should be more dire consequences."

Last year, Bourdon and a 18-year-old New Salem man were arrested on shoplifting charges after he attempted to take $48.65 worth of food and beer from Whole Food Market in Hadley, according to court records. Bourdon was placed on pretrial probation for four months and ordered to complete a shoplifting prevention program.

Nick Grabbe can be reached at ngrabbe@gazettenet.com. Staff writer James F. Lowe contributed to this story.