After numerous election signs were stolen from people’s yards and a local gathering place on the Eastside of Santa Barbara, residents began sharing information and camera footage on Nextdoor in hopes of catching the thieves.
"One individual went to grab a sign probably here and another individual grabbed the sign from there, and then they both went to the vehicle and they left, and then we saw it was the same vehicle over and over again with one to two occupants," said Nick Gonzales, Santa Barbara resident.
Gonzales says 20-50 signs were being taken each night.
"The following night, when we were out, we physically ran into him and that's when he surrendered some signs and a banner," Gonzales said.
He says they recovered more than 30 signs, a banner, and a confession.
The man told Gonzales someone paid him several hundred dollars to take the signs.
"They give me cash," the man told Gonzales in an interaction captured on cell phone video.
"How much did they give you?" Gonzales asked.
"They gave me $200," the man said.
Santa Barbara police say they’ve identified a 43-year-old Santa Barbara man as a potential suspect.
All of the stolen signs belong to the campaign of District 1 Councilwoman Alejandra Gutierrez. She faces two challengers in the November election.
Gutierrez says someone has been vandalizing and stealing the signs since August.
"It cost the campaign a lot of money, and it causes the community members to feel insecure because people are trespassing," Guiterrez said.
She says the campaign spent more than $8,000 on signs and that as many as three-quarters of them were damaged or stolen.
Gutierrez says the Eastside is a tight-knit community and she hopes that people feel safe expressing their opinions going into the election.
"I just want people to feel comfortable supporting whoever they want to support," Guiterrez said.
Because it’s so early in the investigation, police have not yet offered a possible motive for the thefts.
Petty theft and possession of stolen property under $950 is a misdemeanor.
