Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office arrested a suspect who was allegedly caught by Ring doorbell footage stealing a package from outside a residence in East Columbus.
Jaheim Hayden, 20, is charged with one felony count of mail theft, Sheriff Eddie Hawkins told The Dispatch.
Theft of mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service or any other commercial courier in Mississippi became a felony offense in July, following the passage of Senate Bill 2311 during the 2025 legislative session. Mail theft was largely a federal offense before the new state law came into effect.
“Just taking the package itself, it automatically becomes a felony …, so they could actually go to prison for taking packages off the front porch,” Hawkins said. “… And that’s the message that we’re trying to get out to the public is you don’t need to do this.”
The Ring doorbell camera footage of the theft circulated on Facebook, where Hawkins said a deputy who saw it recognized Hayden.
The suspect was arrested Wednesday morning.
Hawkins said after receiving other footage of what appeared to be Hayden stealing a package at another property in the county, he expects more charges to be filed.
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