Warrant issued for suspect in Las Vegas political sign vandalism after missed court date

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A warrant is out for the arrest of a 73-year-old man suspected of vandalizing political signs across Clark County after he failed to show up for a scheduled court hearing on Thursday morning, Channel 13 has learned.

Police previously announced the arrest of David Smith as a suspect in the investigation, which had been ongoing since August 3.

According to an arrest report obtained by Channel 13, police suspect Smith could have defaced as many as 60 political signs across Clark County, some of them multiple times.

The signs, paid for by Better Nevada PAC, show California Gov. Gavin Newsom side-by-side with Attorney General Aaron Ford, Nevada's Democratic candidate for governor. As Channel 13 has reported, multiple signs were repeatedly defaced with swastikas spray painted over Newsom's face. In the arrest report we obtained, investigators claim Smith told them he "hates Gavin Newsom."

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Smith was booked into the Clark County Detention Center for placing graffiti on or defacing property valued at $5,000 or more. He posted bail and was scheduled to make an initial appearance in court Thursday morning, but did not show up.

A local judge revoked his bail and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Investigators noted in their arrest report that Smith is homeless and unemployed, but they used license plate reader cameras to track his Chrysler Town & Country to multiple locations where signs were vandalized, and to find and arrest him this week.

Better Nevada PAC, which paid for the signs, is a Republican political action committee that supports Gov. Joe Lombardo's reelection campaign. In a statement to Channel 13, a spokesperson said the committee had been made aware of the vandalism and would take steps to repair the defaced signs.

"These messages have no place in our discourse," wrote committee spokesperson John Burke.