Police charge 4 with stealing 46 road signs

Published 4:44 pm Monday, April 3, 2017

Four people face felony charges after police say they apprehended the group with more than 40 stolen road signs over the weekend.

Officers of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested the following four individuals on Friday night and charged each of them with theft of property over $1,000:

• Kelvin Bradley Jr., 18, of 216 Dry Branch Road, Elizabethton;

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

• Autumn Williams, 19, of 229 Bishop Hollow Road, Elizabethton;

• Max Meyer, 19, of 1119 Berry Road, Elizabethton;

• Luke Walker, 20, of 1308 W. Market St., Johnson City.

According to Carter County 911, dispatchers received a call around 8:40 p.m. Friday after a witness called in to report individuals attempting to remove a road sign from Clover Branch Road.

Carter County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jerad Cook responded Siam Road near the intersection with Clover Branch Road and spoke with the individual who had called 911. The caller, who was not identified, told the officer they saw a group of people attempting to steal a road sign, so they confronted the individuals, who then fled the scene in what appeared to be a gold Honda Civic.

While officers were searching the area for the suspect vehicle, Cook said Constable Harvey Shaffer told him he had located a car matching that description.

“Constable Shaffer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle for a non-working brake light and immediately radioed for me to come to his location,” Cook said. “Upon arrival, I observed the four passengers later identified as Autumn Williams, Kelvin Bradley, Max Meyer, and Luke Walker, with multiple road signs in the back seat area of the vehicle.”

According to Cook, the 911 caller identified the vehicle stopped by Shaffer as the one they had seen.

Cook said a total of 46 road signs were recovered from the vehicle. He said he spoke with the Carter County Highway Department and learned the signs were valued at $50 each, for a total estimated value of $2,300.

Officers arrested Bradley, Williams, Meyer, and Walker, and transported them to the Carter County Detention Center. Bradley, Williams, and Walker were later released after each posted a $4,000 bond. Meyer remained held in the jail under a $4,000 bond Monday evening.

On Monday morning, Meyer appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court. Judge Keith Bowers Jr. appointed the Public Defender’s Office to represent Meyer and scheduled him to return to court on April 11.

Bradley, Williams, and Walker are all scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court on May 9.