Ballard to serve 10 years as habitual offender

A Shreveport man convicted of simple robbery last year was sentenced in Caddo District Court Friday, February 20, 2026, to serve a decade in prison as a habitual offender.

Arnold Ballard Jr., 49, was convicted October 14, 2025 in District Judge Donald Hathaway Jr.'s court by a six-person jury, which found him guilty of robbing a man outside a Shreveport center serving the homeless.

Under Louisiana law, simple robbery carries a sentence of up to seven years. However, the District Attorney’s office filed a habitual offender bill seeking to have the defendant sentenced as a second-time felony offender. In addition to the immediate conviction, prosecutors alleged that Ballard previously had been convicted of simple robbery in 2023.  As a second-time felony offender, he could be sentenced for at least four and two-thirds years and up to 14 years.

Ballard pleaded guilty to the habitual offender bill and agreed to waive his rights to appeal and post-conviction relief. In return, the state agreed to the 10-year sentence, which was handed down by Judge Hathaway. 

Ballard was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Christopher S. Bowman and Ashlin Thomas. Carlos Prudhomme defended Ballard.

The case was docket No. 397829.

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