The theft of signs for a bike racing event resulted in the arrest of a Hillsboro man for the theft and reckless conduct.
Jonathan Lee Hall was arrested June 26 on the charges, following an investigation of the theft that was reported by volunteers with the Chainbuster racing association.
Chainbuster is a mountain bike racing team based in Athens that holds bike racing events across the state.
The report of the arrest by Deputy John Edward Kile states that he responded to the intersection of Hadaway Road and Flat Shoals Road in reference to the Chainbuster race in the area that was going on with more than 100 participants.
Kile said he spoke with two volunteers at the intersection who had taken pictures of the truck seen leaving the areas where the signs were missing. He said the tag on the truck came back to Hall.
The deputy said he made contact with the suspect at his residence, but he denied any involvement in the thefts. Kile said he asked to look in the back of Hall’s truck and observed several black 3-5 feet long pickets with silver spikes at the bottom.
Hall told the deputy he used the pickets for temporary horse fencing.
The deputy said he took a picture of the pickets and left.
Kile said he contacted Sgt. William Jackson and Deputy Patrick Bloodworth. He said Jackson was able to confirm that the pickets in the pictures Kile took matched the racing sign pickets. The deputy said he and Jackson returned to Hall’s property to explain the evidence they had obtained.
Kile said Hall admitted to taking the signs and showed him the 20 signs and 14 pickets he had taken. The deputy said the volunteers had also advised him that Hall was armed with a pistol, and he observed the pistol on Hall’s hip under his shirt.
The pistol was a black Smith and Wesson 40-caliber handgun.
The volunteer said Hall was seen on the race route, and when they asked Hall about taking the signs, he got out of his truck, pulled up his shirt to show his firearm and unsnapped his holster.
The volunteer said Hall never took the gun out of the holster.
When asked about the incident, Kile said Hall told him two cars blocked him in to ask about the signs. He said he put his hand on his gun because he did not know what was going on.
Kile said Hall was arrested and charged with theft by taking and reckless conduct due to endangering the safety of all the bicycle riders involved in the race.
The signs and pickets were returned to the race volunteers.
