DISCLAIMER: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
LULING, La. (WGNO)— Deputies have arrested a man accused of stealing items that included oxygen tanks for welding, four-wheelers, and money from a digital poker machine over the course of several weeks.
The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office reports that 33-year-old Kyle David Cowart of Des Allemands was taken into custody on Thursday, July 7 in connection to eight different crimes dating back to the first week of June.
Deputies say that the investigation started on June 6 when two four-wheelers, three welding machines, and some tools were reported stolen from a barn on Old Spanish Trail in Luling. One week later, the chains and lock on a storage unit in Boutte were broken and a laptop and power cord were stolen.
Fast forwarding to June 22, SCPSO says that three more crimes were been committed in Luling – this time with video surveillance involved. Three bags of money were removed from a digital poker machine on June 20, and detectives say Cowart was caught on video prying open the machine and stuffing the money in his pants. Then two days later, deputies report two more incidents that capture Cowart reportedly tampering with surveillance cameras the same night both locations reported property stolen.
Then in July, three more crimes struck the Parish – all believed to be tied to Cowart. On July 6, an acetylene tank, two oxygen tanks, and part for a Bobcat were stolen from a business on Airline Highway in St. Rose. The next day, a white Ford F-250 was stolen from a business next door that shares a storage yard with its neighbor.
The same day as his arrest, deputies say Cowart was seen trespassing on property on Old Spanish Trail in Boutte in a white Ford pickup. It is unknown if the truck is the same one that was taken from the Airline Highway business the day before.
Cowart was arrested after coming into contact with St. Charles Parish deputies who were conducting a wanted person check. When he was arrested, SCPSO reports that Cowart was found with methamphetamine in his pocket and was subsequently charged.
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Cowart was booked into the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center with no bond. He faces a list of charges that include:
- Illegal possession of stolen things (2 counts)
- Entering/remaining after being forbidden
- Possession of methamphetamine
- Theft of a motor vehicle (2 counts)
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Simple burglary (2 counts)
- Misdemeanor theft (2 counts)
- Criminal trespassing (3 counts)
- Unauthorized entry of a business
- Theft from a coin-operated device
St. Charles Parish deputies continue to investigate each crime. Detectives are also asking anyone with information about crimes Cowart may be involved in to contact the sheriff’s office at (985) 783-6807.
