Stephen Spring, a capital-city attorney notorious for filing a number of high-profile lawsuits in Lafayette over the years, is facing a felony theft charge in St. Martin Parish.
The 63-year-old Spring, who was arrested Friday afternoon by U.S. Marshal Service deputies at his Baton Rouge office, is accused of stealing several items from an elderly disabled client who lives in Butte La Rose. The alleged theft was investigated by the St. Martin Sheriff’s Office and Elderly Protective Services.
According to sources close to the case, Spring represented the elderly man in a lawsuit stemming from an automobile accident on Interstate 10. Those sources tell The IND that the attorney not only stole cash, an ATV and tractor from the victim, but those same sources also accuse Spring of absconding with disability checks meant for the victim.
Spring practiced law in Lafayette during the 1980s, before moving to Florida and then settling in Baton Rouge. He first made local headlines by representing a number of disgruntled police officers in what has been called the "Serpico" suit, claiming widespread corruption of 14 officials within the department and city-parish government. The lead plaintiff in the suit is former narcotics officer Kane Marceaux, who for many years represented LPD on a federal Drug Enforcement Agency task force.
Spring is currently being held in the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail without bond as he awaits transfer to St. Martinville.
For more on Stephen Spring, read our July 2013 story, “The Lawyers of Last Resort.”