A Renton-area man has been charged with eight counts of removing or defacing political advertising in the theft of nearly 140 campaign signs belonging to Marcie Maxwell, who is running for the state Legislature in the 41st District.

Charged is 43-year-old Randall Goulet, according to Sgt. John Urquhart, a spokesman for the King County Sheriff’s Office. The violation is a misdemeanor and according to the law, is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail for each count.

Goulet couldn’t be reached for comment.

The investigation began Sept. 28 when Maxwell reported the thefts to Newcastle Police, according to Urquhart.

The charges were filed in Mercer Island District Court, which contracts with Newcastle for court services.

Stealing or defacing campaign signs is a common political tactic. However, it’s rare that anyone is ever prosecuted because they’re typically not caught in the act.

However, in this case two witnesses saw a man taking the signs. Signs were removed from along the Maple Valley Highway, from unincorporated areas of Renton and from Newcastle and Bellevue, according to Urquhart. The witnesses wrote down license plate numbers of the two cars and it turned out that both vehicles belong to the same person, he said.

Deputies spoke with the husband of the registered owner of the vehicles and then recovered 138 signs. The man was not arrested but the case was referred to prosecutors.

Because of the number of stolen signs, it took a deputy two trips to recover all of the signs, Urquhart said.

“I can tell you we have no idea what the motive is,” he said.

Maxwell said campaign signs are stolen all the time and every candidate and political issue has to deal with that. In this case, 138 signs were taken over 2 1/2 days, she said.

She said she doesn’t know the man nor does she know his motives. The theft seemed “purposeful” and not random, she said.

The signs were returned, but some were damaged.

Maxwell’s challenger in the race for the open House Position 1 seat is Steve Litzow, a Mercer Island City Council member. Litzow couldn’t be reached for comment.