The suspect in Thursday's hit-and-run case is in custody, according to Louisiana State Police.
State Police detectives and the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force arrested Ronald F. Shearon, Jr. at 2 p.m. Saturday after a brief pursuit in Jackson, Miss.
Shearon was booked into the Hinds County Correctional Facility where he awaits extradition to Louisiana.
“The arrest is the result of great communication between law enforcement (federal, state, and local) and cooperation from individuals who called in information to assist law enforcement officers. The speed at which we were able to make an arrest is a direct result of those efforts and will allow a family to begin closing one chapter of a difficult process,” states Senior Trooper Johnnie Brown, Troop A Public Information Officer.
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Louisiana State Police on Friday named a Pride man the suspect in Thursday’s hit-and-run fatality involving a pedestrian on Hooper Road east of Plank Road.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office pronounced Carlena M. Watson, 32, 1886 74th Ave., dead at the scene, State Police Troop A spokesman Trooper Johnnie Brown said.
None of Watson’s relatives was available for comment Friday and the telephone number listed for her residence has been disconnected.
Detectives said they think Ronald Franklin Shearon Jr. abandoned his red 1989 Dodge pickup truck after the incident just before 5 a.m. Thursday, Brown said.
The truck, which has Texas license plates, sustained heavy front-end damage and a shattered windshield, Brown said. It was found blocking the gravel driveway of a house on Hooper east of Mickens Road, he said.
Shearon, 32, 15344 Crystal Drive, is wanted on counts of manslaughter and hit-and-run in Watson’s death, Brown said.
In a photo taken last summer, Shearon sports a mullet, two pierced ears and a goatee. Shearon has numerous tattoos on his neck, arms and legs, Brown said. According to Texas Department of Public Safety records, Shearon is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds.
Brown asked anyone with information on Shearon’s whereabouts to call State Police Troop A at (225) 754-8500 or by dialing *577 from a cellular phone. He said Shearon should be considered dangerous and should not be approached.
Shearon has lived in Texas and Florida, and has an extensive felony history stretching back to 1992, court records show. In those states, he has been convicted for a range of offenses, including battering a law enforcement officer, fabricating physical evidence and possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, court records show.
Meanwhile, Watson has a criminal history in East Baton Rouge Parish stretching back 14 years, according to court documents. She had been arrested on several offenses, including prostitution, armed robbery and possession of a Schedule II drug with intent to distribute, court records show.

Source: The Advocate