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INDY�: <br />CD <br />raleigh -cary durham- chapel Bill <br />City says anti - sheriff signs are legal <br />By Sam DeGrave <br />Acarpenter's level critiqued James Michael Lynch's every <br />move as he worked. After each swing of his mallet, Lynch <br />consulted the level, which rested on the sign's wooden frame. <br />Only when a sign was perfectly straight did Lynch allow <br />himself to move on to the next. <br />The sun wouldn't be up for another hour, but the street lights <br />enabled him to see. By 7 a.m. Lynch had finished working. On <br />one side of South Dillard Street, stood the massive Durham <br />County Courthouse; on the other, 11 signs, posted in the <br />public right -of -way, accused Sheriff Mike Andrews of <br />conspiracy. <br />"I believe Sheriff Michael D. Andrews is nefarious! He lies to <br />victims and conspires with others to cover up crimes!" the <br />signs read. <br />Lynch walked the length of the street admiring his work, and <br />then returned to his truck, which was parked on the sidewalk. <br />He opened the door, but he didn't get in. Instead, he turned to <br />face the courthouse parking deck before smiling and waving to <br />the security camera on top of it. <br />"You can't tell me Andrews or one of his deputies ain't going <br />to see that," Lynch said before getting into his truck and <br />driving home. <br />Lynch's signs started appearing around Durham about four <br />months ago as an attempt to dethrone Andrews, the <br />incumbent, in the spring election. (Andrews won.) Lynch's <br />beef with the sheriffs office started in September 2012. That's <br />when Lynch noticed a safe he had hidden in an air duct in his <br />home was missing. The safe contained a pinky ring, a gold <br />chain, four car titles, a friend's P89 Ruger, loaded with 16 <br />hollow -point rounds, and $15,000 in cash that Lynch says he <br />had been saving for his parents. <br />Lynch suspected his neighbor stole the safe while cleaning his <br />house, and called the sheriffs office to file a report. <br />Michael D. A <br />Photo by Lisa Sorg <br />Lynch: I've got to expose the corruption, and then I'll get my <br />safe back." <br />Lynch became unhappy with the way his case was being <br />handled almost immediately. But without probable cause <br />linking Lynch's neighbor to the theft, the sheriff s office made <br />no arrest. Agitated by the apparent lack of progress, Lynch <br />became suspicious of the people handling his case. <br />So over the last year, Lynch has filed citizen's complaints <br />against Andrews and five other members of the sheriff s <br />office, alleging that they lied to him and conspired to cover up <br />crimes <br />"I just got this feeling in my gut, and something didn't feel <br />right," Lynch said. "My gut hasn't been wrong yet." <br />During the past three weeks, Andrews was unable to speak <br />with the INDYregarding Lynch or his signs. Communicating <br />through Sheriffs Office Public Information Officer Paul <br />Sherwin, Andrews cited meetings and vacation as the reasons <br />why he was unable to talk to the press. Sherwin didn't respond <br />to the INDFs most recent request to speak with the sheriff, <br />which was sent on July 3. <br />The neighbor also declined to speak with the INDY. <br />After noticing what he deemed to be inconsistencies in what <br />several members of the Sheriffs Office told him regarding the <br />investigation, Lynch was convinced he was being lied to. He <br />