Gambling Habit Leads to Hammond Man's Theft Arrest

On Thursday, October 27, 2016 the Hammond Police Department Criminal Investigations Division arrested Jacob Kyle Cunningham, 53 years old of Hammond, for Felony Theft.

The arrest follows a complaint from the owner of N’Awlins Sports who was concerned about internal theft. The owner, Mike Lester, noticed the store had not been making as much money as it once had, so he started reviewing camera footage. He immediately found that Cunningham had been making cash sales and not ringing up the purchases.

HPD questioned Cunningham and he admitted he was stealing money to support his gambling habit, and he frequently bought scratch-off tickets with the money. Cunningham also admitted that he had been drinking on the job. Cunningham estimated that he had stolen approximately $5,000 in cash and approximately $1,000 in merchandise over the past year.