Trial begins for Murrysville man accused of taking political signs
According to his lawyer, former Franklin Regional School Director Gary English was just picking up litter when he loaded campaign signs into the back of his pickup truck in April 2020.
“Twice a year we are all assaulted by these campaign signs that litter our roadways and are prohibited from township and state roadways. They are simply a danger to the driving public,” Assistant Public Defender Jack Manderino told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday in his opening statement.
English, 66, of Murrysville is charged with three misdemeanor counts of theft and a summary offense of disorderly conduct in connection with the removal of three campaign signs for local candidates near Route 30 in Hempfield.
Manderino said English, a Republican who resigned from the school board in October 2020, was not making any political statements when he removed the signs touting the campaigns of three Republican candidates seeking positions on Hempfield’s board of supervisors, school board and tax collector.
“Mr. English was feeling his civic duty to assist PennDOT in removing several signs from the public right of way. He was merely cleaning up the right of way,” Manderino said.
Prosecutors claim English is a thief who took property that didn’t belong to him.
Assistant District Attorney Jackie Knupp told jurors the prosecution of English has no basis in politics.
“This is not about whether we like political signs on our roadways,” Knupp said. “This is a matter of the defendant taking it into his own hands. The defendant didn’t make efforts to get these signs back to their owners.”
Witnesses claimed as many as 103 campaign signs were reported missing from Route 66/Route 30 corridor, but English is charged with taking just three signs.
Knupp said witnesses watched, took pictures and recorded video of English removing the placards.
Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger rejected a defense effort last week to dismiss the charges, setting the stage for the trial to begin this week.
Manderino said English is expected to testify when the trial resumes Thursday.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.
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