JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A candidate for sheriff is dealing with a potential blow to his campaign after a supporter of Jimmy Holderfield was arrested on charges he stole a competitor's signs.
According to the arrest report, Curtis Green, 22, was caught on camera stealing signs of one Mike Williams. Green was charged with petty theft.
Green did get an attorney Thursday and apologized for the incident.
"It was a stupid decision but he feels terrible for it," Green's grandfather said.
Multiple campaigns said sign theft is a problem citywide, and now it's a problem for the Holderfield campaign.
The alleged thefts happened outside a business in Marietta. Investigators said surveillance cameras caught Green getting out of his vehicle and stealing signs from Williams. Police have three separate video files of this.
The Holderfield campaign referred to Green as simply a supporter. News4Jax reached out to them for comment and the campaign released a statement, "We are disappointed to hear of an incident involving a young, overzealous supporter who demonstrated extremely poor judgment by removing an opponent's campaign sign. While we appreciate all our supporters, there is absolutely no excuse for such wrongful conduct."
News4Jax also contacted Williams' campaign, who had the signs stolen and Williams said Holderfield called to apologize.
"Not too long ago I got a call from Jimmy saying he was sorry it happened," said Williams. "He was talking about the importance of running a clean campaign and he feels like he has run a clean campaign up until this point."
There were multiple Holderfield campaign signs at Green's Westside home, just minutes from where the thefts occurred. Green's grandfather answered the door and said he wasn't home.
"I'm his grandfather. He was just messing with some signs." Green's grandfather said.
News4Jax also asked the Holderfield campaign if he could comment about the incident and the campaign said he was tied up preparing for the debate, with airs on Channel 4 Thursday at 8 p.m. Thursday.