Man sent to prison for shoplifting at Walmart

November 8, 2025

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor

LUDINGTON — A 48-year-old man was sentenced to two concurrent prison terms of 18 months to 30 years in Mason County’s 51st Circuit Court Tuesday, Nov. 4, for two felony convictions of first-degree retail fraud.

Jerry Humphrey

Jerry Preston Humphrey received credit for 161 days served in jail. He was ordered to pay $772.96 in restitution in addition to fines and costs.

Humphrey’s co-defendant, 45-year-old John Alex Humphrey II, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of first-degree retail fraud. He is set for sentencing Jan. 13. 

The two men stole items from the Ludington area Walmart store, including a Meta Quest Virtual Reality headset, an

John Humphrey II

electric scooter, stereo equipment and windshield wiper blades, said Mason County Prosecuting Attorney Beth Hand. “They acted in consort,” said Hand. The men took a curtain rod from the home goods area of the store to unlock a case to gain access to the Meta Quest headset, she said, and then they put the stolen items inside a storage tote. The thefts occurred Dec. 6 and Dec. 27, 2024.

The value of the stolen items was over $500 each time, said Hand, and both men were charged with felonies due to having prior felony convictions.

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