CLEARFIELD – After winning a seat on the Clearfield County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Timothy J. Winters was charged with theft on Wednesday.
Police say Winters, 57, of Hyde, stole a sign asking residents to vote for Mary Tatum, a current commissioner who was not on the November ballot. Other signs posted in the area urged people to write-in her name.
Winters is charged with misdemeanor theft and receiving stolen property, in addition to a summary charge of illegal parking at a fire station.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim reported to police that the sign for which he paid $15 was placed next to the sidewalk at the entryway into the community center at the Hyde Volunteer Fire Company.
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, he noticed the sign was missing. He checked the surveillance footage and saw a man he identified as Winters remove the sign on Monday night.
An officer viewed the video, which was provided to police. In the footage, a pickup truck, registered to Winters entered the parking lot at 11:23 p.m., and parked parallel to the bay doors of the fire department.
A man, who the officer recognized as Winters, exited the vehicle and began walking to the entrance of the community center.
He approached the sign and took a photo of it with his cell phone before walking away. He then turned around, pulled the sign from the ground and carried it to his truck, according to the criminal complaint.
He reportedly threw it in the bed of the truck and drove away.
A preliminary hearing in this case is scheduled for Dec. 20 at 9:45 a.m. during centralized court at the Copper Cork Event Center.
Winters, a Republican, was the top vote-getter in the commissioner’s race with incumbents John Sobel and Dave Glass being the other two winners.
Tatum, also a Republican, was appointed by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman to complete the term of Tony Scotto, who resigned in October of last year. She lost the spring primary election to Winters and Sobel.