Yard sale season is right around the corner, but if you want to make sure your signs aren’t taken down by the city, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the city’s sign ordinance. It’s against City of Dalton ordinances to put signs on telephone poles, utility poles, or any street signs. For a sign to be legally placed in Dalton, the sign also must be off of public right of ways (typically about four feet off of the roadway and sidewalks), be placed with the permission of the property owner, and the signage must be collected after the completion of the event being advertised.

The City of Dalton strictly enforces the ordinance for placement of temporary signs not just for yard sales, but also for event signs, store advertisements and political signs. Illegal signs may be discarded under ordinance:

Below are the most common violations of the city’s sign ordinance:

Sec. 4.1 - Prohibited signs.

The following signs types are prohibited throughout the City of Dalton in all zone districts and all historic districts.

4.1-1 Portable signs. Ex: Wire or wood stick in signs.

4.1-5 Bench signs.

4.1-6 Abandoned signs.

4.1-10 Signs on public rights-of-way. Ex: Wire or wood stick in signs.

4.1-11 Signs erected, maintained, affixed, painted, drawn on any tree, rock, or other natural feature. It shall also be unlawful to post signs, upon any utility or telephone poles and traffic control devices.

Sec. 8.4 - Enforcement. - in the interest of safety, any official or employee of the city shall have the authority to remove and dispose of any sign placed within the public right-of-way without notice to the owner.

The officers of the DPD hate to have to take down your signs, so please make sure they’re placed legally so you can get your message out!

UPDATE (March 10th, 2020) - The individual we asked about on March 9th has been identified and is not considered to be involved in this case. Taylor Bailey is still missing and considered to be a runaway. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to please contact Detective Brian Shirley at 706-278-9085, extension 9-189.

UPDATE (March 9th, 2020) - The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public’s help identifying a man who had contact with 17 year old Taylor Bailey on the night she ran away. The DPD’s investigation has found that at approximately 10:00 PM on the night Taylor ran away, she was seen interacting with an unknown male at the Calhoun Food & Tobacco convenience store at 901 Wall Street in Calhoun, Georgia. This man was white or possibly Hispanic and he was driving a newer model white Jeep Patriot SUV. Dalton investigators want to identify this man and talk to him about his interaction with Taylor Bailey at the store because he is the last person they have confirmed to have contact with her that night.

ORIGINAL STORY (Feb 27th) - The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public’s help to locate 17 year old Taylor Bailey. She ran away from the custody of her group home on February 25^th. Investigators believe that she may be in the Gordon County area.

Taylor Bailey is approximately 5 feet tall and weighs approximately 98 pounds. Her hair is dark brown and shoulder length and she has a scar over her right eye from a piercing. The last time she was seen, she was wearing black Hollister leggings, a burgundy colored t-shirt with the word “pink” on it, a thin blue jacket with a red stripe and white Adidas shoes. She was at the movie theater at Walnut Square Boulevard with her group home when she ran away. A picture of Taylor Bailey is included below.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to please contact Detective Brian Shirley at 706-278-9085, dial 9 and enter extension 189.

Below: Taylor Bailey

The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public’s help to identify a man who stole cash and financial information from a couple’s car while they were inside a local convenience store. When confronted by the owners of the car, the suspect gave back the money but got away with information about the couple’s bank accounts and other financial information. The suspect was recorded by surveillance at the store.

The incident happened January 5^th at the RaceTrac gas station on West Walnut Avenue. A couple traveling to Florida from Wisconsin stopped at the gas station to refuel and visit the convenience store. When they came back out to their car, the found the suspect in the driver’s seat. According to a police report, when one of the victims confronted the suspect and asked why he was in their vehicle, the suspect first said “this is my car.” The victim told police that he saw that his wife’s purse was in the suspect’s lap. He grabbed the purse back from the suspect and saw that that $400 that was supposed to be inside was in the suspect’s hand. When he confronted the suspect, he gave back the money but folded up a piece of paper and walked away towards another car parked in front of the store. The suspect left the scene and the victim realized that a piece of paper that contained financial info about the couple’s bank accounts and investments was missing from inside their vehicle. They contacted all of their financial institutions and continued on their trip, reporting the incident to police by phone the next day.

The suspect was recorded by the store’s surveillance system inside the store just before he entered the victim’s vehicle. He is a white male described by witnesses as being in his late 30s or early 40s, standing approximately 5’9” tall with reddish brown hair and wearing a long sleeved black or navy blue t-shirt, tan pants, glasses, and a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga ballcap. After the confrontation with the victims, the suspect left in a gold colored Ford Fusion.

Anyone who recognizes this suspect is asked to please contact Detective Matthew Kumnick at 706-278-9085, dial 9 and enter extension 224.

Below: The suspect and his vehicle were recorded on store surveillance (click images to zoom in)

UPDATE: This suspect has been identified. Thank you to everyone who contacted us with tips about his identity.

The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public’s help to identify a man who shoplifted more than $450 in groceries from a store. The suspect failed to get away with the groceries after being confronted by the store’s manager at his vehicle in the parking lot.

The shoplifting happened at the Kroger at 1365 West Walnut Avenue. Shortly after 8:30 pm, the suspect pushed a loaded grocery cart out of the store without paying for the items. The store manager, who was standing near the door, followed the suspect into the parking lot where he attempted to load the groceries into a white Nissan Altima with a Murray County tag. Unfortunately, the manager was unsure of the tag number. When the store manager confronted the suspect, he got into the vehicle which was being driven by a woman of unknown description and they left the scene without the stolen items. The store provided a receipt to police for the items that were taken and recovered which totaled $459.18.

The suspect is a heavyset white male with a receding hairline and grayish black hair. He wore a blue t-shirt at the time of the theft. Pictures of the suspect are included below.

Below: The suspect was recorded by store surveillance

The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public’s help to identify a man who they say stole a large industrial vacuum cleaner from a car wash. The theft was recorded by surveillance cameras at a neighboring gas station which the suspect also visited before the theft. A picture of the suspect is included with this release.

The incident happened in the early morning hours of January 26^th at the Village Car Wash at 1242 Thornton Avenue. The suspect vehicle, a black Ford 150 pickup truck with a beige or gray stripe on the bottom, was first recorded at the car wash at approximately 4:15 am. The driver appeared to use the vacuum for several minutes before getting back into the truck and driving away southbound on Thornton Avenue at approximately 4:30 am. The same truck pulled back into the car wash and up to the vacuum unit a few minutes later. The suspect then drove to the Citgo station next door at 4:45 am, parking by the air pumps. The suspect then added air to one of his tires before walking into the store. The suspect then drove away with his tailgate down before driving back into the car wash next door at approximately 5:05 am and parking next to the vacuum again. This time, the suspect lifted the vacuum unit into the back of the truck and drove away traveling southbound on Thornton Avenue. The car wash owner told investigators that the suspect apparently loosened and removed the three nuts bolting the vacuum to the concrete mount. The vacuum unit is valued at approximately $1,800 and also contained approximately $300 in quarters when it was stolen.

The suspect was recorded by the gas station’s camera system just before the theft. The suspect is a heavyset white male, wearing a white collared shirt with the Polo logo over a dark underhshirt, a blue jacket, black Nike baseball cap with white swoosh, blue jeans, and white sneakers and black gloves. A picture of the suspect is included below. Anyone who recognizes this suspect is asked to please contact Detective Clinton Travis at 706-278-9085, dial 9 and enter extension 231.

Below: The suspect and his vehicle were captured by surveillance cameras at a neighboring store (click to see a larger version of the picture)