Mahlon Joseph Bourgeois
July 7, 2009
Ronnie Jerome Labit
July 9, 2009
Thieves have stolen 61 batteries worth $150 each from pump stations in Terrebonne Parish over the past two months, breaking the chains to entry gates and hammering through the steel rods holding the batteries in place, said Terrebonne Parish government spokeswoman Linda Henderson.
The pump stations are useless without batteries, leaving homes vulnerable to water damage during a flood when they are missing, said parish Public Works Director Greg Bush in a release.
The fencing around a few of the pump stations has been cut as well. Total property loss and damage amounts to more than $10,000.
The thieves have revisited the stations and lifted replacement batteries, Henderson said.
Henderson did not know what was being done with the stolen batteries, but they could be resold or outfitted onto boats.
She said another possibility is the batteries could be used to produce illegal crystal methamphetamine. Crystal meth manufacturers use the battery acid as an ingredient or as a filler, according to drug information Web sites.
Henderson said the thieves have to be spending time at the pump stations since cable wires are intact, not destroyed, and the batteries weigh around 100 pounds apiece. A number of people are possibly working together, she said.
Most of the pump stations that have had batteries stolen are not in remote locations. Henderson said she is hoping the public will report suspicious activities.
According to Terrebonne Parish Councilman Joey Cehan, the current penalty that could be applied to the thieves for stealing the batteries is a misdemeanor.
Cehan said he will meet this week with representatives from the Terrebonne district attorney’s office, the sheriff’s office and Houma Police to recommend making the crime a felony.
If flooding to homes occurs because of missing batteries at pump stations, the thieves should be held responsible for the damage, Cehan said.
Three businesses have offered rewards up to $1,200 for information leading to a conviction, Henderson said.
The battery-theft spree began on April 20 when six were stolen from the Lashbrook pump station. Since then, batteries have been taken from pump stations at Boudreaux Canal on May 9; Industrial Boulevard on May 24 and 25; Ashland North on June 1; Ashland on June 1 and June 25; and Concord on June 15.
Numerous batteries were also stolen from the M&L pump station near Eagles Nest Court in Houma on May 25, June 15, and June 27.
Residents should call Houma Police at (985) 873-6371 or the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office at (985) 876-2500 if a car or person is spotted at a pump station, or if any suspicious activity is noted.
Authorities are searching for the thieves who made off with more than $10,000 worth of pump station batteries in Terrebonne Parish. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
