BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

LOVELY — A Lovely resident accused of stealing water from the Martin County Water Department was arrested on Friday after Sheriff John Kirk investigated the complaint and found proof of theft.

Billy Ray Maynard, 64, of North Wolf Creek Rd., had a ‘cheater bar’ pipe where his water meter should have been, but it had been pulled for non-payment of service. The sheriff believes Maynard had been obtaining water under fraudulent means for quite some time. While at the residence, Kirk also discovered a large, illegal garbage dump site on Maynard’s property. 

Maynard was charged with one count each of theft by unlawful taking (under $500) and criminal littering.

The sheriff said that with the rising costs of utilities, groceries, gas and other day-to-day essentials, he expects cases like this to become more prevalent.

“What we need to do is work harder to make the public aware of programs that provide assistance for paying on electric and water bills for those who qualify,” said the sheriff. “I’m not sure how we go about it, but the information may need to come directly from the utility companies themselves. Maybe they could contact customers facing disconnects and provide them with the contact numbers for these agencies instead of just unhooking their services. Not everyone has access to the internet and social media, so we’ve got to think outside the box and try to approach this in ways that will reach more of our residents.”

“If you are disconnected, please ask for help, don’t commit a crime by stealing water or electric and find yourself facing an arrest warrant. I hate being called to investigate cases such as this one, and it pains me to see families living without electric service or water. But if a crime is committed, you will be charged. Ask for help and go about this the right way.”