Is I-49 dead in south Louisiana?
March 29, 2011April 2: Ladybug Ball Children’s Festival (Houma)
March 31, 2011A deputy in the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office D.A.R.E. program was fired and arrested last Wednesday when she admitted to claims that she had defrauded her 90-year-old grandmother out of approximately $30,000 during a one-year period.
Tara Pitre, 30, of Houma, was charged with one count of exploitation of the infirmed, jailed and then released on a $500 bond.
According to sheriff’s detective Capt. Dawn Foret, Pitre had been taking money from her grandmother, Aurelia Pitre, for approximately one year and was found out only when members of the elderly woman’s family were checking her bank records, found discrepancies and discovered a trail leading to the law enforcement granddaughter.
The family made a call to the office of Elderly Protective Services and an investigation was launched and resolved that same day.
“We called [Tara Pitre] into the sheriff’s office and she was arrested there,” Foret said.
Tara Pitre offered no resistance but reportedly claimed there is another side to the story. She could not be reached for comment.
Aurelia Pitre had lost her home of 40 years to a fire in February and had been living with her son in Bayou Blue.
Assistant District Attorney Dixie Brown, who handles crimes dealing with the elderly, said because this is an ongoing case she was not at liberty to talk specifically about it. Brown did say, however, that arraignment for Tara Pitre could take place in three weeks.
Foret said that if found guilty, Tara Pitre could face fines of up to $10,000 and jail time not to exceed 10 years.
