A man running for town council in Yorktown, Indiana, was arrested at his polling place, accused of stealing political signs and leaving the scene of an accident after hitting one of his fellow candidates with his car.
In an affidavit, Republican town council incumbents Bob Ratchford and Rich Lee say that while placing campaign signs at polling sites Monday night, they saw Richard Yencer, a Democrat, taking a sign for Republican U.S. Rep. Luke Messer. They looked in the trunk of Yencer's car and saw other political signs. "When [Lee] told Mr. Yencer he knew the law and he can't do that, Mr. Yencer replied that he is the law," Kip Curtis, a sheriff's deputy, wrote in a report.
After notifying police, Ratchford then allegedly tried to keep Yencer from leaving the scene, so he stood in front of his car. When Yencer put his car into reverse, he reportedly hit Lee "in the knees with the rear bumper of his car." Yencer left the scene, Ratchford and Lee said, and police were unable to find him. He was finally arrested more than 12 hours later at the polling site for Precinct 71, Yorktown High School.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yencer was charged with theft and leaving the scene of an accident, and was released from Delaware County Jail after posting a $5,000 bond.
-
Can Nigel Farage and Reform balance the books?Today's Big Question Nigel Farage has, for the first time, ‘articulated something resembling a fiscal rule’ that he hopes will win over voters and the markets
-
The best quality chocolateThe Week Recommends The milk and dark chocolate bars that win on depth and flavour
-
Crossword: November 3, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
