Just before 7am this morning, a group of people hung a political banner on the eastern side of the Rio Linda arch. No one group has been identified as responsible, but the sign is hand-signed by many people and businesses who presumably sponsored the effort.
There is no Sacramento County sign permit attached to the sign or the arch.
Some of the businesses identified are:
- Mauser Aviation (Rio Linda Airport)
- Toro Engineering
- RCI Plumbing
- Zine’s Garage
- Farm Air
- West Concrete
CA Penal Code 594 PC is the California statute that defines vandalism as maliciously damaging, destroying, or defacing another person’s property. Vandalism can be filed as a felony if the amount is $400.00 or greater.
California vandalism charges can be filed for many reasons. Keying a car, damaging wet cement, or hanging a banner that then has to be removed. The mitigation costs would be considered in the charges.
In fact, California takes vandalism very seriously. If the damage is valued at four hundred dollars or more, vandalism can be filed as a misdemeanor or a felony. The penalties for felony vandalism could include a jail sentence of between one and three years and/or a fine of up to $10,000, or more.
It’s a shame that people within our community would let their political leanings get the best of them to the point of vandalizing public property. It’s obvious that they had the ability to get up there to hang the sign, so why not volunteer to repair the lights which have been failing for over a year now?
Is this what politics has driven us to? Left or right, it’s vandalism, and that energy and money could have been put to much better use to benefit the entire community and lift us all, instead of giving a handful of ultra-right activists some giggles for the weekend.
As of 1:38pm it’s been removed.
The California Highway Patrol and Sacramento County are investigating.
