Late Monday afternoon, Douglas County deputies arrested a Fulton County code enforcement officer accused of stealing campaign signs.
Channel 2 Action News had the only crew there as deputies led Marnitta Ballard away in handcuffs at the Fulton Government Center on Fulton Industrial Boulevard.
A Douglas County sheriff’s investigator said over the weekend, he spotted Ballard driving a truck from which an accomplice hopped out and stole a re-election sign for his boss, Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller.
Investigator Trent Wilson said Ballard approached him when she realized he had written down her license plate number.
“And I said, ‘Well, is that your property?’ She said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Well, I work for the Sheriff’s Office,’ and she said, ‘Well, I work for the government,’ and she pulled off,” Wilson told Channel 2’s Mark Winne.
The warrant for her in that incident arrest lists theft for one campaign sign, a misdemeanor, but she could face more charges. Wilson said numerous signs have disappeared across the county.
“Like I said, I just stumbled upon her Saturday,” Wilson said.
Channel 2’s Michael Buczyner went to her Lithia Springs home Monday evening as investigators removed numerous signs. Wilson said they also found political signs from another county.
“Through the investigation, we believe she took about 50 or 60 signs,” he said.
Fulton County police are also investigating Ballard.
