An Indiana woman has been accused of using an extension cord to steal her neighbor’s electricity and run a sky-high bill.
Charles Lowe, a veteran and cancer survivor from Evansville, Indiana, told local outlet WFIE in an in-person interview that his neighbor, Tina Milburn, 50, had been stealing his electricity since November, costing him thousands of dollars each month.
Lowe recalled the moment his roommate figured out why their electricity bill was through the roof.
“He said ‘Come back here and look at this,’ so I went back there with him and he showed me. They’d run drop cords out from underneath my trailer and run them to their trailer,” he said.
Milburn was accused of using the extension cord to keep a light on, WFIE reported, citing authorities. She was charged with burglary, according to local outlet WIKY.
She allegedly admitted to crawling under her neighbor’s trailer to plug in the extension cord, and had planned to give him 100 dollars with no explanation, according to another report from WFIE.
Lowe said he can’t afford the expensive electric bills, telling WFIE, “I’ve been going through so much this last year.”
“I fought cancer, I got COPD, and I just got out of the hospital,” a visibly upset Lowe said, wearing his Desert Storm hat. COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a lung condition that causes breathing problems.
Lowe is now left to grapple with the alleged theft while dealing with his other hardships.
“I can’t handle all this stuff that’s going on right now. I want to be treated how I treat people. I treat people the way I want to be treated,” he said, adding, “There’s two things I don’t like in life; that’s a thief and a liar.”
Lowe said he still has to pay for the stolen electricity, but that his electric company, CenterPoint Energy, allowed him to set up a months-long payment plan.
Milburn was reportedly being held at the Vanderburgh County Jail on a $500 bond, and her initial hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday.
The Independent has reached out to the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office and CenterPoint Energy for comment.
Information about Milburn’s legal representation was not immediately clear.
