Man steals water services from disabled, elderly neighbor

A Poydras area man has been arrested for stealing water service from his disabled, elderly neighbor, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Louis Leidinger, 51, 2300 E. Christie Drive, was booked Nov. 18 with theft of utility service. He was being held in lieu of $1,000 bond.

The daughter of a disabled woman in her 70s reported finding a hose leading from a spigot at the rear of her mother’s home across a fence to a neighbor’s residence, the sheriff said.

An investigating sheriff’s deputy found the hose was connected to Leidinger’s residence.

The daughter, who had gone to her mother’s home to visit her, found a $170 water bill and began to look to see if there were leaks to explain why the bill was so high.

She found no leaks but saw the hose connected to the back of the elderly woman’s house and leading over a fence into another residence, the sheriff said.

Leidinger was arrested when he returned home later that day.