In California, is it illegal to own old road signs?

I collect these to a degree, and have some old reflector speed limit signs, 60's stop signs, etc. I think alot of us do.

I had a few visitors today and all the Sheriffs said they could arrest me for having stolen signs. I countered with the fact that they were vintage signs, and they are sold as scrap by the city, county, etc.

He said if he comes back and I still have them, he will arrest me.

WTF.

Anyone know the real deal on this? I don't need the screw them advice..
Anyone that knows please let me know.

 

He said if he comes back and I still have them, he will arrest me.

guy sounds like a dick.

I don't allow dicks in my shop.

 

he has the law on his side and if you have a reciept wher you purchased them then it is on your side,,,

I have a couple of signs but I bought them from the sign department and have proof. HRP

 

Put up a NO TRESPASSING sign and if he comes in do a Gomer Pyle on him and do a citizen's arrest...

cool tees: www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236347

 

I build signs and I'm sure if you needed a receipt it could be arranged......

 

I have lots of traffic signs..Mine are mostly pre 50's back to the teens, mostly Auto Club signs. If your signs are current and have a logo of state, county or city then it would be a problem unless you have paper work from those institutions. If no logo or markings of ownership on them then that is a stretch for him.

 

Not if you can show that you paid for them from a city or a scrap yard.
Valencia city Cal is selling old ones now

 

That's a load of pucky . California state , counties and cities do or at least have in the past sold signs . I've seen the sales posted as such .

p.s. If you are truly looking for a new state , try New Mexico . I just moved here from SoCal and I TOTALLY love it here . I lived in Lancaster for the first 18 years of my life . Good place to be from .
p.p.s. Everything is illegal in The People's Republic of California , that's why I moved here after almost 60 yrs . The Politically Correct Enforcement Bureau was after me

 

The sheriff dep is being a jerk. Of coarse he does have to
fill out reports on stollen street signs but shouldn't hassel
you over your vintage ones.

 

Yes,
Here's one I got from Dan Quayle...

 

Is it some kind of hard-core feminist shop?

I think getting receipts is a good idea. Are they right out in the open? Paint over the parts that say property of 'the man'?. That might be a cheap way out.

 

What did they accuse you of?? If it is owning stolen property I would think they would have to prove the signs are stolen. Is it illegal to own old signs....I doubt it,but I can't say for sure. Sounds like unwanted visitors to me...I owuldn't invite them back..or let them on my property for that matter....wouldn't they need permission or a search warrant to come look around?

 

many moons ago me and some buddys had a shop where we worked on our junk. I took my HOT ROD datsun pickup out for a quick blast around the block after a tune up or something. this was an industrial area late at night... maybe someone was sleeping there somewhere I don't know, but someone called the cops.

cops pull up outside the shop and invite themselves in the open roll up door. we had prolly 5 -7 signs hanging up... all current and recently "borrowed" from knocked down signs from accidents.

they hassled us a bit and left... didn't say anything about the signs, and didn't look into our foil lined cardboard room where we had our pot plants growing. that was a close one.

 

Well I have no receipts, as I bought them at the Pomona swap, etc. I know the counties sell them, because I've been at the auctions.

They came in my back yard of my home in force, since some putz I have past dealings with said I am running a chop shop at my house. (I'm assuming that, but I'm pretty sure)

I let them back there..county code fucks, the building and safety, etc, and the police, as I had a choice of that or get arrested, then they go back there anyway.

As they looked at all my stuff, they saw the signs, and made that comment. They found nothing illegal,other than that, but now I have to move alot of my classic car collection elsewhere, as I have 4 weeks to get rid of all the crap.

I don't think so..

The code guy didn't know the laws I was quoting him, and the sheriffs thought my old cars and trucks were cool enough, that they were taking photos of each other sitting in them.

I did not give them permission to take "recreational photos". And if they were cool enough to sit in, then they are good enough to stay.

 

They dont need permission or a warant to see something that is out in the open for everyone to see. I guess you could put up a sign saying they cant come in.......

 

It is legal, just aquire them legally...

write this guy an email...he ought to know more details

http://www.caltrafficsigns.com/

 

fuck that guy!! i have to buy signs all the time for work,almost any good sign shop sells them right over the counter, any type of road sign! even if they are stolen tell him to prove it..i say fuck em and feed em fish heads!!!

 

I have a street sign,Pier Ave. from Manhatten Beach. It used to be in my front window of my apartment,when I was single. One night a guy beat up his girlfriend and the cops came. When they came to me to ask if I knew anything,the other cop asked me if I stole it. I told him I bought it at a swapmeet,which I did. He said to take it down cause it was stolen! I told him that the guy who sold it to me bought over a hundred of them from a Manhatten Beach City auction. He didn't care and said if he sees it again he'll arrest me for possesion of stolen property! What a DICK!!!

 

Things like this is why I have a legal service...let the fucks arrest me....I'll call my law firm and be on their asses in a heartbeat 24/7 too. Just because they have badges doesn't mean they can harrass you anytime they want.

 

Their argument would be that if you had gotten them legally, you would have a receipt. My guess is that if they chose to press it, and you didn't have a receipt, they would have a case. They go on the assumption that it is stolen and it is up to you to prove otherwise.

 

never hold up in court...someting about burden of proof,musta been one of the guys that went to nazi-cop school,along with the cop thaat ran into tfeverfred,,,dont back down to the pricks......

 

Maybe it's time to have a sign shop make you one that actually says "No Dicks Allowed next 100 feet" or some other witty slogan? "Innocent until proven guilty" would be a good one too.

Here in New York I see the state selling frigging scrap metal lots on eBay that can be full of signs, happened to get a look in a local scrapyard the other day and they had old signs from who knows where in the pile, probably one of those state lots. You're probably good enough with a reciept for X lbs of aluminum scrap.

I actually have a couple we spotted in a town pile and some guy told us we could have, back before scrap was worth an arm and a left nut. And one that says NC on the bottom of it, no idea where it came from, a buddy got it from some guy's scrap pile he was given to junk.

 

Do like a friend of mine in Texas did. Have some slightly off size cardboard ones made, and plaster them all over your shop. Shouldn't be much they can do about them because they're not real. After the heat goes down put the real ones back where the fake ones were.

 

Even if its legal if they want to mess with you they will. Everyone always says stuff like, ''tell them not to come on your property,'' or ''they can't do that, tell them to go pound sand.'' Well, this is the people's republic of kalifornia, even if they're wrong, they'll charge you up the ass in court fees while you're proving you're in the rite. Its a sad day when defending your rites costs more than the average person can afford.

 

I don't have a receipt for everything I've ever bought, and I bet that cop doesn't either.

Take the signs off the nails for a month while this whole things blows over. Then hang them back up and forget about it for another 20 years.

I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on TV, but it really, really seems to me that if they hauled you in to court, the burden of proof is on them. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. But more to the point, who is the victim here? You can't arrest a person for stolen property without a victim. And unless the state or city can verify that those particular signs were stolen from them, I wouldn't think they could prove how you acquired them, illegal or legal.
-Brad

 

The State, Cities, the County all dispose/sell/auction signs all the time. Our city and Arcadia just sold all their street signs. I've even bought brand new signs from the factory. The one on the wall is the same ones bought by cities thoughout the State of California, but I bought it new.

 

Pier Ave. is in Hermosa Beach

 

Lame................I dont have a reciept for that jar of pickles in the refrigerator, I'll probably get fifteen to life for that if they catch me. Maybe he'll get hit by a bus tomorrow and you wont have to worry about him coming back.........cross your fingers. BTW did the valve covers arrive yet?

 

Any pics of these unlawful signs?

 

No this is flat out wrong. Whatever happened to the Fourth Amendment: presumption of innocence? Just because they want to think you stole them, this does not trump the Fourth Amendment and your protection from unreasonable search. They have to demonstrate probable cause - and their just assuming you stole them will not hold up in court. Note the expression "probable cause" - not "possible cause". And yes they need a search warrrant. Ask the next cop who harasses you if they are familiar with the Fourth Amendment and are they aware how much violating it will cost the City.

If the cop is eating a donut for which they do not have a receipt, does that make it stolen in your eyes? This is effectively what they are saying - whatever it is, if you do not have a receipt for it, it must be stolen. Judge , jury and hangman. Welkom to the Police State of Kalifornia.