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Man faces charges in water-ruse case

By Joshua Roberts - | Jun 30, 2004

Leavenworth police believe the same man behind burglaries and attempted burglaries throughout the area was arrested Sunday in Springfield, Mo.

Daniel Casterton, 36, is charged in Leavenworth County District Court with aggravated burglary and misdemeanor theft, charges stemming from one of three reported theft cases in Leavenworth County.

He is suspected of posing as a water department worker who made his way into elderly women’s homes. Once inside the homes, the suspect took cash and other valuables from the homeowners.

Similar ruses have been reported in Tonganoxie, Shawnee, Lansing, Prairie Village, Atchison and Kansas City, Kan. No one has been physically injured in any of the reported thefts.

Casterton was arrested in Springfield, Mo., Sunday after police there received a tip about his location.

Acting Tonganoxie Police Chief John Putthoff said he’s not sure whether Casterton matches the description of a man who posed as a water department employee at an elderly Tonganoxie woman’s home on June 19. The man told the woman that something was wrong with her water, and the woman let him in. He asked her to turn on her kitchen water faucet and while she was in the kitchen, the man took $100 in cash and the woman’s keys before fleeing.