WOOSTER -- "I am relieved to have been exonerated."
Those were the words from Damon Hickey in a Letter to the Editor to run in full in Saturday's edition of The Daily Record, following dismissal of his case.
Hickey, 74, 301 Miller Lake Road, was charged with criminal trespass and criminal mischief on allegations he stole a neighbor's Donald Trump yard signs in the weeks leading up to the election.
On Tuesday, the charges against Hickey were dropped.
Wayne County Prosecutor Dan Lutz said initially the plan was for Hickey to go through the newly-formed diversion program in Wayne County Municipal Court as an alternative to prosecution.
"However, after I received a call and some information from his defense counsel, and after I personally reviewed the case circumstances and other information, I exercised my discretion to remove the requirement that the defendant complete diversion," Lutz said.
Hickey was represented by Orrville attorney Marie Moore.
"So, (Hickey) has been fully exonerated over this whole silly mess," Moore noted, as they both predicted when charges were filed Nov. 23. "He did not deserve the negative attention he was given. The prosecutor's office made a smart decision to drop the matter."
Hickey also was contacted, but did not wish to make further comment.
A motion to dismiss filed in December by Moore, along with Hickey's letter, state that he believed the yard signs were placed on Miller Lakes property and in violation of the rules set by the homeowners' association.
"I was simply trying to follow our homeowners' association rules," Hickey wrote in his letter.
But, as he explained, once Hickey learned this was not the case and he apologized to the property owner which he believed could have been the end of the matter.
"I was not politically motivated. I deplore acts of theft of any sort, especially those that seek to abridge political expression," he wrote.
Reporter Steven F. Huszai can be reached at 330-287-1645 or shuszai@the-daily-record.com. He is @GeneralSmithie on Twitter.