A Donald Trump supporter in Bridgewater, Massachusetts turned to a surveillance camera to solve what he described as a frustrating series of thefts of his political lawn signs.
"I just think he's direct, to the point, and that's what I like about him," voter Joe Ricci said of Trump, his preferred candidate from the Republican field.
Ricci, an owner of a construction business, told necn he believes Trump's business prowess could translate into success for the nation.
However, the voter said he believes his enthusiasm for Trump left him the target of theft. He said he believes someone who is less than impressed with the candidate stole 13 Trump political signs from his front lawn.
"It was because it was Trump," Ricci said. "If that was somebody else's sign, it wouldn't have gotten stolen, I'm convinced."
After four or five months of sign thefts, Ricci said he finally had enough and invested in a surveillance system, which captured video of a young man lifting one of Ricci's signs. Ricci said his family recognized the person in the video as a teenager from the neighborhood.
"He said he liked [Trump] and wanted the sign," Ricci said of a conversation he told necn he had with the person in the video. "But when I confronted him and asked him why he didn't put any of them out, and they just disappeared, he couldn't answer me."
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Ricci said he supplied the surveillance video to investigators from the Bridgewater Police Department.
In response to an inquiry from necn, Bridgewater Police confirmed they are investigating the thefts. Officers said the suspect is a 16-year-old who lives near Ricci. As of Monday afternoon, no charges had been filed.
Any possible charges would be minor. A police report obtained by necn puts a value on those Trump signs at $26 dollars, or $2 apiece. The police report describes the offense still under investigation as larceny under the value of $250.
For Ricci, the situation is not about the value of the signs as much as it is about free speech.
"You can like whatever party you want," Ricci said. "That's what makes our country great. You can have our opinion, you can say what you want, but you can't steal things. You can have a Hillary [Clinton] sign straight across the street, and I can disagree with it, but I can't steal it."
Ricci promised to keep supporting his candidate, and said he hopes his new camera will finally mean an end to the missing signs.
