Man Convicted for Posting Sign That Offended Neighbors : Valencia: Gary Shaw is found guilty of disturbing the peace for displaying a message insulting a sheriff’s deputy who had given him a ticket.

After spending more than $10,000 and taking nearly two years to fight a misdemeanor charge that he disturbed the peace in his neighborhood by posting an offensive sign, a Valencia businessman was found guilty Friday by a jury that took only 90 minutes to deliberate.

Gary Shaw, 33, who repeatedly turned down offers to settle the case so he could fight what he saw as an infringement on his right to free speech, now faces up to 90 days in jail when he is sentenced next month.

The dispute that pitted neighbor against neighbor on Elder View Drive began in August, 1990, when Shaw posted a sign on his van that insulted a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who had given him a speeding ticket.

“Mark me down as a criminal,” he said at the end of his trial. “I am very disappointed and quite surprised.”

Despite the setback and the legal costs, Shaw said he will fight the conviction for his principles and those of his neighbors, even the ones who testified against him during the weeklong trial.

“It’s over 10 grand so far, but I am not stopping,” Shaw said. “How can I? I am not going to let them mark me as a criminal. I’m appealing.

“Let me tell you, principles in Valencia cost you a lot. They cost you years out of your life, tears out of your wife, dollars out of your pocket and time away from your business. But I am not regretful. I did this for my neighbors, even the ones speaking against me.”

Shaw was charged with the misdemeanor after he taped a handmade sign to the rear window of his van and parked it in front of his house after receiving a ticket from Deputy John Banks. During the trial, Shaw testified that the sign said “Deputy J. Banks Can Suck My Duck.”

But neighbors testifying for the prosecution said the sign originally had an off-color word that Shaw changed to duck after residents angrily confronted him because their children had seen the sign.

Shaw fought the charges from the beginning, saying his freedom of speech would be infringed upon if he was punished for putting up the sign. He rejected offers to plead no contest to a lesser offense and receive probation or a small fine.

But during the trial in Newhall Municipal Court, the freedom of speech issue did not even come up. Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael P. Noyes said the 12-member jury had to decide only if the sign disturbed the peace, because if it did so, then Shaw had given up his freedom of speech protection.

Noyes noted that U. S. Supreme Court rulings have held that the right of free speech of an individual must be balanced against the rights of the group. Hence, freedom of speech does not allow someone to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater.

“If he has disturbed the peace he has gone beyond First Amendment protection,” Noyes said of Shaw. “I think the jury came back with the right decision. It was totally appropriate.”

Noyes said the prosecutor’s office has not decided whether to ask Judge Floyd V. Baxter to jail Shaw at his May 22 sentencing.

Shaw, who owns a messenger service, said he is confident that he won’t end up in jail over the sign.

“It’s a trivial offense at most,” he said. “They are not going to make me go to jail. Thirty-five people work for me. They depend on my business staying open.”