Lake Forest Council Member charged with Illegally Removing Campaign Signs

Adam Nick

The Orange County DA’s office has formally charged Lake Forest Council Member and former Congressional candidate Adam Nick with illegally removing campaign signs that belonged to another council member in last November’s election.  Nick was the Republican’s sacrificial lamb against Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.

Here’s the release from the DA’s office:

LAKE FOREST COUNCILMAN CHARGED WITH ILLEGALLY REMOVING

CAMPAIGN SIGNS BELONGING TO ANOTHER COUNCILMAN

NEWPORT BEACH A Lake Forest councilman was charged today for removing campaign signs on public display belonging to another city councilman. Adam Nick, 50, Lake Forest, is charged with one misdemeanor count of petty theft and one misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property. He is also charged with violating a Lake Forest Municipal Code

section regarding campaign signs. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 2, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. in Department H-8, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach.

At the time of the crime, Nick was serving as Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Lake Forest.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2014, Nick is accused of driving and parking his vehicle in a no parking zone at the intersection of Bake Parkway and Trabuco Road in Lake Forest. He is accused of instructing a fellow passenger to get out of the car and remove a campaign sign on public display that belonged to Lake Forest Councilman Scott Voights.

An Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) vehicle was patrolling the area at the time and approached Nick’s car.

OCSD conducted a search of the defendant’s vehicle. Nick is accused of possessing approximately 10 other signs belonging to Voights, stored in the back of his vehicle.

In 2014, Councilman Nick amended the Lake Forest Sign Code to allow for harsher penalties for those who tamper with or remove campaign signs without permission and requested that a violation of this municipal code section be prosecutable as a misdemeanor.

OCSD investigated this case.

Deputy District Attorney Jess Rodriguez of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.