PORTSMOUTH - For removing a roadside sign he viewed as "blight," Stratham resident John Decker was sentenced Monday with a suspended fine, an order for restitution and a mandate to remain on good behavior for two years.

Decker, an advertising executive and critic of rogue roadside signage, was sentenced for a guilty finding on a charge of theft by unauthorized taking. Known as the "Sign Bandit" for his ongoing efforts to rid the landscape of impromptu and temporary signs, Decker was represented by Portsmouth attorney Richard Foley.

Foley told the court Decker's "methods may be unorthodox," but his actions were "well intended."

Prosecuting the case for Portsmouth police, Sgt. Corey MacDonald told the court Decker "relished the role of Sign Bandit" and the attention it brought him, while "draining" police resources to investigate, arrest and prosecute him. As proof, MacDonald referenced a recorded message Decker left on the answering machine of sign owner Universal Spa and Furniture, boasting about the national attention his actions had received.

John Decker

The prosecutor asked for a $1,200 fine, with half of it suspended providing Decker remain arrest-free for one year.

The court considered Decker's previous arrest for sign theft in Rye, which concluded with the charge being placed on file without a finding for one year and restitution. Decker has no previous criminal history, MacDonald told the court.

Judge Sawako Gardner imposed a $1,000 fine, with all of it suspended, providing Decker remain on good behavior for two years and ordered him to pay $325 in restitution. He was also court-ordered to have no contact with the sign owner, based on MacDonald's statements to the court that Decker had threatened to stage a protest at the Heritage Avenue business.

"It's kind of what I expected, and it's immaterial anyway, because I'm going to take it to the Supreme Court," said Decker following Monday's hearing. "It's all working out according to plan."

Decker's plan is to appeal the case to the state's highest court on two points of law. One is early law stating that if a state doesn't take action, a "citizen patriot" can act. The other is his assertion that a representative from the N.H. Highway Department told him he could remove the sign, before local police arrested him for the same act.

Decker said he will not be stealing any more signs, instead assisting with proposed legislation seeking a ban on temporary roadside signs, while appealing the Portsmouth case to the Supreme Court.

"Now that it's spring, new signs will be going up on poles for house painters," he said. "To me, it's blight."

Through his work in advertising, Decker has become adept at measuring the advertising value of stories in newspapers and on television. The monetary value of his sign theft story receiving national media attention is "over two and a half million dollars," he said.

"The big difference is that I don't have a client," he said. "Too bad for me, because normally I'd get 15 percent."