
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 10, 1990                   TAG: 9005100672
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TWO MEN CHARGED WITH STEALING SIGNS

Two Roanoke men have been charged with stealing about $30,000 worth of aluminum road signs from the state Transportation Department's Salem division headquarters and cashing them in at a recycling center.

They were arrested early Tuesday morning after they were seen leaving the headquarters by a Salem police officer, Lt. Russell Gwaltney said today.

Police believe that up to five tons of signs were stolen from a fenced storage area at the Harrison Avenue headquarters since March, Gwaltney said.

The signs were apparently taken to a recycling center and sold on a regular basis.

David Bower, transportation engineer at the Salem headquarters, said the signs were sold for scrap metal for a total of about $3,000 to $4,000.

Police said a further investigation may lead to additional charges.

Charged with grand larceny were Michael Jerome Clement, 31, of the 1400 block of Melrose Avenue and Herbert Gerald Harris, 26, of the 1800 block of Hanover Avenue.

Gwaltney said police were able to recover most of the signs, although they may not be salvageable because they had been compressed into large bales at the recycling center.

The signs, which were being held in storage and were not attached to posts, had been marked for speed limits and other traffic instructions.

by CNB