Arrest Made in Connection with Multiple Same-Day Thefts

PONCHATOULA (August 8, 2026)- A Ponchatoula man has been arrested for a series of thefts in the area on the same day.

Ronnie Cummings, Jr., 50, was booked within nine hours of the first reported case on Tuesday, August 4. His charges include Felony Theft, Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.

The investigation began Tuesday around lunchtime when a resident on North Hoover Road reported his ATV stolen. Then around 4 p.m., a resident on South Thibodeaux Road reported his trail camera being stolen but still live streaming as the suspect was driving away with it. The resident was able to report a vehicle description from a different camera on his property which helped authorities track down the truck in the city limits of Ponchatoula with Cummings behind the wheel.

During the traffic stop on the vehicle, several other items stolen from the Thibodeaux Road location were found along with the keys to the stolen ATV from North Hoover Road. When the ATV owner arrived to reclaim the keys, he informed deputies that he had been made aware of the possible location of the ATV off of Esterbrook Road due to Cummings having attempted to sell it online earlier in the day at the same time the owner posted about it being stolen on social media. The ATV was located in that area a short time later.

During Cummings arrest, the owner of the truck he was driving arrived on scene to report that while he had allowed Cummings to borrow the truck, as of midday, Cummings was refusing to return it. Cummings was subsequently placed under arrest in connection with all three incidents.

A passenger in the truck with Cummings, Jerry Hedgepeth, 45, was also arrested after it was discovered that he had placed some of the items stolen from the South Thibodeaux Road theft at his property located nearby. His charge is Illegal Possession of Stolen Items.

TPSO Public Information Office, pio@tpso.org‍