Removing Stop Signs Can Have Serious Consequences

This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 by Harry Reynolds of Scarsdale, in response to a series of pranks involving stop signs: To the fools who several times between July 27th and July 30th removed stop signs at Carman, Nelson, and Edgewood Roads, thereby endangering the very lives of men, women, and children, take this warning:

Do not think that the maximum risk entailed by the removal of a stop sign will be a police visit to your homes. Putting aside the minor issue of theft, should deaths occur in consequence of your removal of a stop sign, your conduct may constitute at least the felony of criminally negligent homicide or the greater felony of recklessly committed manslaughter in the second degree, to say nothing of lesser but serious crimes should injuries occur. In the language of the street, “If you do the crime, be prepared to do the time.”

In 1996, three friends in their early 20's removed a Florida stop sign as a prank. It caused the deaths of three teen-agers who drove into the path of an eight-ton truck. The three friends were each sentenced in 1997 to 15 years in prison where they remained until 2001 when their manslaughter convictions were reversed, and a new trial ordered, because of prejudicial statements by the prosecutor in summation. State v. Miller and Cole, 782 So.2d 426; State v. Baillie, 782 So.2d 435.

Rely on it. When you are tried in Westchester County, great care will be taken to avoid any error in your conviction.

Harry Reynolds