Stealing Electric Current — Tampering With Meters

TITLE 18 CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS CHAPTER 46 LARCENY AND RECEIVING STOLEN GOODS 18-4621. Stealing electric current — Tampering with meters. Whoever shall without permission or authority of any person, firm or corporation engaged in the generation or distribution of electricity, make connections, or cause connections to be made, by wire or wires or by any other device, with the wires, cables or conductors, or any of them, of any such person, firm or corporation, for the purpose of obtaining or diverting electric current from such wires, cables or conductors; or whoever shall, without permission or authority from any person, firm or corporation using any meter or meters erected or set up for the purpose of registering or recording the amount of electric current supplied to any customer of such person, firm or corporation within this state, connect or cause to be connected by wire or any other device, any such meter or meters, or change or shunt the wiring leading to or from any such meter or meters, or by any device or appliance or means whatsoever tamper with any such meter or meters in such manner that such meter or meters do not measure or record the full amount of electric current supplied to such customer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment: provided, that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to affect the right of any person, firm or corporation to recover by action in any court of competent jurisdiction damages for any injury done by such unlawful acts.