Dakota Theriot — who is suspected of fatally shooting five people — was arrested in Virginia on Sunday.

In a joint statement from the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, authorities confirmed that Theriot, 21, was arrested in Richmond County on Sunday morning.

Theriot is suspected of killing his girlfriend and her brother and father at their home in Livingston — where he had been living after he was kicked out of his parents’ home a few weeks earlier — on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office told PEOPLE.

Theriot then drove to his parent’s nearby home in Ascension Parish, where is suspected of shooting and killing them, police said.

According to the joint statement, Theriot will later be transported back to Ascension Parish and booked on two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion and illegal use of weapons.

Richmond County is over 1,000 miles away from Ascension Parish.

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Theriot was arrested by two sheriff’s deputies around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday after he arrived at a family member’s house, police told PEOPLE.

Prior to the arrest, authorities in Richmond received information that Theriot “was believed to have family ties” in the area, and were checking “places Theriot was known to associate,” according to a statement from the Richmond County Sheriff’s office.

During their search, deputies received a call from a family member who asked that their home be checked before they returned, police said.

Sheriff Stephan Smith told Lousiana newspaper The Advocate that the family member was identified as Theriot’s grandmother, adding that she had stayed in a hotel the previous night in case Theriot tried to contact her.

While deputies were on site, Theriot “arrived at the residence in a motor vehicle with a firearm pointed out of the window,” according to the statement.

Upon command, Theriot dropped his weapon and he was taken into custody “without incident,” police said.

Theriot is currently being held at Northern Neck Regional Jail without bond until his next court appearance, according to the statement, which did not specify the court date.

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In a press conference held on Saturday, Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said that police received a call around 8:45 a.m. that morning about “two victims who had been shot in their trailer.” Police believe the shooting appears to have stemmed from a domestic dispute.

Webre went on to identify the victims as the suspect’s parents, Elizabeth Theriot, 50, and her husband, Keith Theriot, also 50.

According to the sheriff, when police arrived at the scene, Keith, who was still alive at the time, was able to identify his son as the shooter.

During the press conference, Webre also revealed that Dakota had briefly lived in the trailer with his parents, but “was recently asked to leave the residence and not to return.”

The sheriff went on to say that during the course of their investigation, he learned that the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office was investigating a triple-homicide that occurred on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the Livingston Sheriff’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE that Theriot is suspected of killing Billy Ernest, 43, Tanner Ernest, 17, and Summer Ernest, 20, around 8 a.m. that morning.

Theriot and Summer had only recently started dating at the time of the shooting, according to the Washington Post.

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Police believe that after shooting Summer and her family members, Theriot stole her father’s car, a Dodge pickup truck, before driving to his parents’ home, according to the Washington Post.

Two children inside the Livingstone home, ages 7 and 1, were unharmed, the outlet reported. The children are currently with their mother, according to CNN.

Theriot has previously been arrested once for possession of drug paraphernalia, CNN reported.

“This is probably one of the worst domestic violence [incidents] I’ve seen in quite a while,” Sheriff Webre said in his Saturday press conference.

The investigation is ongoing and a motive has yet to be revealed.

Outbrain</s>Shootings in Louisiana: What we know

Five people are dead in two separate — but related — incidents.

Dakota Theriot, 21, was arrested Sunday morning in Virginia on first-degree murder and other charges.

Two of the victims were the suspect's parents.



Evelyn Ernest, the mother of one victim and grandmother of two others, told CBS News that her granddaughter and the suspect were briefly in a romantic relationship.



New Orleans — Authorities in Louisiana said a 21-year-old accused of killing his parents and three others in two separate but related shootings Saturday has been arrested in Virginia after an overnight manhunt. Dakota Theriot, who faces charges of first-degree-murder, illegal use of weapons and home invasion, was captured Sunday in Richmond County, Virginia.

The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office announced Theriot's arrest in a Facebook post Sunday morning and said he will be brought back to Louisiana to face charges.

Authorities say Theriot first shot and killed three people — the woman believed to be his girlfriend, her brother and father — in Livingston Parish before taking her father's truck and driving to neighboring Ascension Parish where he shot and killed his parents.

Deputies with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Virginia said they received a request from a family member of Theriot's to check their residence. While the deputies were on site, Theriot arrived at the residence with a firearm pointed out the window of a vehicle, police said. The deputies sought cover and Theriot dropped the weapon upon command and was arrested, police said.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre told a news conference that deputies were called to a trailer in the city of Gonzales for a "domestic incident" on Saturday morning. Upon arrival, deputies found two people who had been shot but were still alive: Elizabeth and Keith Theriot, both 51. CBS affiliate WAFB-TV reports the couple was shot in the bedroom, authorities said.

Dakota Theriot Richmond County Sheriff

Deputies were able to interview Keith Theriot before the couple was transported to a hospital in Baton Rouge, where they later died. From that interview, authorities identified Dakota Theriot, the couple's son, as "our prime suspect in this case," Webre said.

The sheriff said three other shooting deaths occurred Saturday in neighboring Livingston parishes, about 70 miles west of New Orleans. Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard confirmed on Facebook that three deaths happened in his parish and identified the victims as Billy Ernest, 43; Tanner Ernest, 17; and Summer Ernest, 20.

There were two juveniles found at the scene, a 7-year-old and a 1-year-old, both of whom are safe, Ard said.

Ard said Summer Ernest and Dakota Theriot were in a relationship and that Theriot had been living with her family for a few weeks.

Webre said the three victims in Livingston were shot first, and he then shot his parents.

Theriot had been considered "armed and dangerous" and was last seen driving a stolen 2004 gray and silver Dodge Ram pickup.

Evelyn Ernest, the mother of Billy Ernst and grandmother of Tanner and Summer, told CBS News that Summer and the suspect were briefly in a romantic relationship. She said she met Theriot only once.

Theriot's parents were shot in their trailer on Saturday morning.

"The father was gravely injured at the time we found him and has since passed away," said Webre. But before he died, Webre said authorities were able to get a "dying declaration from him, and only enough information to let us know that it was his son that committed this act."

Webre had said there were indications that Theriot was traveling east and could have been in another state.

"We're going to work every lead. We're going to follow every tip," he said during the evening news conference.

Ard said Dakota Theriot was believed to be armed with at least one handgun.

"We do not have a motive. It is still undetermined," Ard said.

Crystal DeYoung, Billy Ernest's sister, told The Associated Press that she believes Theriot had just started dating her niece, Summer Ernest.

"My family met him last weekend at a birthday party and didn't get good vibes from him," DeYoung said. She said she wasn't sure how her niece and Theriot met, but that she believed the relationship was relatively new.

"My mom is a good judge of character and she just thought he was not good," DeYoung said of Theriot.

DeYoung said she skipped the birthday party and didn't meet Theriot herself. DeYoung said Summer and Tanner Ernest were two of Billy's three children. He was also raising his wife's children.

DeYoung said Theriot doesn't have a vehicle and she's not sure how he ended up at the Ernest home on Saturday, but after the killings, he took off in her brother's truck.

There were also two young children in the home at the time. DeYoung said a 7-year-old took the baby out of the house and went to a neighbor's.

DeYoung said her brother, niece and nephew were good people.

"They all had very good hearts. They trusted people too much," she said, as she began crying. "They all loved unconditionally."

Charlenne Bordelon lives near the house where the Ernests were killed. She told The Advocate newspaper that two young children from the house ran to her home. They were uninjured and asked for help after the shooting.

Bordelon said Theriot was the older daughter's boyfriend and that he'd recently moved in with the family but she did not know him.

Webre said Dakota had lived with his parents briefly but was asked to leave the residence and not return.

"I would not approach this vehicle. We feel no doubt that Dakota is going to be armed and dangerous, and we need to bring him to justice really quick," Webre said.

Webre said Dakota Theriot had some run-ins with law enforcement in other parishes that he described as misdemeanor-type incidents that did not include violence: "Certainly nothing of the magnitude that we've seen today."</s>The 21-year-old Louisiana man who is accused of killing his parents, girlfriend, and two others has been arrested in Virginia.

Dakota Theriot was captured early Sunday morning by the Sheriff's Office in Richmond County following an overnight manhunt.

Theriot has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, illegal use of weapons, home invasion, and theft of a motor vehicle.

He will be brought back to Louisiana to face charges.

Theriot allegedly killed his girlfriend Summer Ernest, 20, her father Billy Ernest, 43, and her brother Tanner Ernest, 17, before fatally shooting his own parents Elizabeth Theriot, 51, and Keith Theriot, 51, at their home in Gonzales shortly before 9am on Saturday.

Sheriff Bobby Webre of the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Jason Ard of the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office announced news of Theriot's arrest on Sunday morning.

A motive in the killings has not been revealed, but authorities believe it was a 'boyfriend [and] girlfriend type of dispute', according to WAFB.

Ard said Theriot had been living with Summer Ernest's family for a few weeks before the shooting.

Authorities said Theriot first shot Summer and her father and brother at their trailer home in Livingston Parish.

A seven-year-old and one-year-old child were also at the scene. The seven-year-old took the baby to the house of neighbor Charlene Bordelon and asked for help.

Bordelon called 911 after the seven-year-old told her that their father, brother, and sister were dead.

'It's so heartbreaking,' Bordelon told The Advocate. 'She was terrified.'

Bordelon said she heard a truck speed away from the home just moments before the seven-year-old girl knocked on the door.

Theriot had stolen Billy Ernest's truck and drove to his parents' home in Gonzales, shooting them both in their bedroom before fleeing the scene, authorities said.

Both Elizabeth and Keith Theriot were still alive when police were called to the home.

Webre said police were able to get a 'dying declaration' from Keith Theriot 'to let us know that it was his son that committed this act'.

The couple were rushed to the hospital, but both passed away from their injuries.

Webre said that Theriot had been living with his mom and dad 'for a little while' but was 'recently asked to leave with some disagreements.

'But no idea why he would do anything like this,' Webre said during a press conference on Saturday. 'This is probably one of the worst domestic violence [incidents] I've seen in quite a while.'

Authorities pledged that they would 'work every lead' and 'follow every tip' to find Theriot, who was described as 'armed and dangerous'.

Police released a picture of Ernest's stolen 2004 Doge Ram pickup truck, as well as pictures of Theriot's tattoos.

Now two sets of family are trying to make sense of the horrific tragedy.

Crystal DeYoung, Billy Ernest's sister, said her family had only just met Theriot last week at a birthday birthday.

'They didn't get good vibes from him,' DeYoung told the Associated Press. 'My mom is a good judge of character and she just thought he was not good.'

DeYoung said her brother and niece and nephew all had 'very good hearts'.

'They trusted people too much,' she added. 'They all loved unconditionally.'

Michael Logan, who lives next door to the mobile home where the Theriots were killed, said he had overheard several arguments at the home recently.

'There's been a lot of yelling matches, usually at night,' he told The Advocate.</s>(Reuters) - Sheriff’s deputies in Virginia on Sunday arrested a 21-year-old man wanted on suspicion of shooting five people to death in Louisiana including his parents, his girlfriend and members of her family.

Following a multistate manhunt, Dakota Theriot was arrested in Richmond County, Virginia, after pointing a firearm out the window of a home, officials said.

“Deputies challenged him and he surrendered without incident and is at NNRJ (Northern Neck Regional Jail) without bond,” the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.

Theriot will be taken back to Louisiana to face charges including first-degree homicide, home invasion and illegal use of weapons, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana said.

The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s office in Louisiana said he was wanted on two counts of first-degree homicide.

Both counties are in the Baton Rouge area and about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from where he was arrested a day after the killings.

Theriot was identified as the suspect in the Saturday morning slayings of Billy Ernest, 43, Tanner Ernest, 17, and Summer Ernest, 20, Livingston Parish officials said.

Investigators believed Summer Ernest was Theriot’s girlfriend, NBC News reported, citing authorities. Tanner was her brother and Billy their father.

Theriot is believed to have stolen their vehicle and driven to nearby Ascension Parish, to the home of his parents where he lived until recently when he was asked to leave, officials said.

“This is probably ... one of the worst domestic violence incidents I have seen in quite a while, for a young man to walk into a bedroom and kill his mother and father, and then to kill the family in Livingston he had a connection with,” Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre told a news conference.</s>A Louisiana man accused of murdering five people in a killing spree was arrested Sunday morning in Richmond County, Virginia, police said.

Dakota Theriot, 21, was taken into custody by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, ending a manhunt that started Saturday morning after his parents and three others were killed in Louisiana.

He will be transported back to Ascension Parish, Louisiana, where his parents, Keith and Elizabeth Theriot, were found shot inside their trailer.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said during a press conference Saturday afternoon that deputies were called to the Theriot’s home in Gonzales, about 25 miles southeast of Baton Rouge, around 8:45 a.m. CST.

Keith Theriot was still alive at the time and gave deputies information “that his son, Dakota Theriot, is going to be our prime suspect,” Webre said.

Keith Theriot and his wife, Elizabeth, were airlifted to a hospital in Baton Rouge where they later died.

Before allegedly shooting his parents, authorities said they believed Dakota Theriot fatally shot Summer Ernest, 20, her father Billy Ernest, 43, and her brother Tanner Ernest, 17, at their home in Livingston Parish.

Investigators said they believe Summer Ernest was Dakota Theriot’s girlfriend, and he had been living at the home with her family for a couple of weeks. Webre said Saturday that Theriot had lived with his parents for a time, but was recently asked to move out and not return.

Charlene Bordelon, who lives next to the Ernests, told The Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge that the family’s two youngest children, both younger than 8, fled to her home after the shooting. She said the children were not injured.

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Sunday morning that Theriot faces charges of two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, and illegal use of weapons for the murders that happened in their parish. He is being booked in a Richmond County jail before he is extradited to Louisiana.

Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said Saturday that the suspect also faces charges of theft of a motor vehicle and three counts of first-degree murder for the killings of the Ernest family members.

“This is probably one of the worst domestic violence incidents I've seen in quite a while,” Webre told reporters Saturday.</s>A 21-year-old man from Louisiana who allegedly fatally shot his girlfriend, her father and her brother before driving in a stolen pickup truck and killing both his parents was captured Sunday.</s>A 21-year-old suspect authorities believe to be responsible for the most horrific and deadly domestic violence incidents in Louisiana’s recent history has been captured after an extensive multi-state manhunt, authorities in Louisiana reports.

Sheriff, Bobby Webre of Ascension Parish say 21-year-old Dakota Theriot was located in Richmond County, Virginia on Sunday. Theriot will soon be transported to the parish to face two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, and illegal use of weapons in addition to three counts of murder in Livingston Parish that occurred on Saturday morning.

Theriot is said to be responsible for the murder of his girlfriend Summer Ernest, age 20, her brother Tanner Ernest, age 17, and her father Billy Ernest, age 43 in Walker, Louisiana, 20 miles to the east of Baton Rouge. An Ernest neighbor heard a pickup speeding away just before the children came and told her that their sister, brother, and father were dead.

Following those murders, it is reported that Theriot drove to his parents home 25 miles distant in Gonzalez using the stolen pickup and shot them dead. Authorities were able to get a dying statement from Theriot’s father Keith, who told deputies that his son was the one who shot him and his wife Elizabeth. Two small children, a one-year-old and a seven-year-old escaped harm.

Sheriffs believe that Theriot, who just recently moved in with his girlfriend and her family carried out the murders in response to some dispute between himself and Summer. He moved in with Summer after his family kicked him out of their home after recent disagreements.</s>DONALDSONVILLE, Louisiana — Authorities say a man suspected in two shootings that left five people dead in Louisiana has been arrested in Virginia.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre and Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said in a statement that 21-year-old Dakota Theriot was arrested Sunday by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

The news release says Theriot will be brought back to Ascension Parish and booked on two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, and illegal use of weapons.

Authorities say Theriot shot and killed three people Saturday morning in one parish before going to his parents’ house in a neighboring parish and killing them before fleeing.

Ard said Saturday that Theriot was believed to have been in a relationship with one of the victims, Summer Ernest. Her brother and father were also killed.</s>Police have arrested a man accused of killing five people, including his parents and his girlfriend, across two southeast Louisiana counties, following a daylong manhunt.

Authorities say Dakota Theriot shot and killed three people Saturday in Livingston Parish, near Baton Rouge, including the woman he was believed to be dating. He then stole a truck and drove to neighboring Ascension Parish, where he shot and killed his parents, according to police.

“This is probably one of the worst domestic violence incidents I’ve seen in quite a while,” said Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre.

Police in Virginia arrested Theriot on Sunday in Richmond County, according to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office. He’ll be transported back to Ascension Parish and booked on two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion and illegal use of weapons.

Theriot was also wanted under three counts of first-degree murder and theft of a motor vehicle in Livingston Parish.

In a news conference on Saturday, Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said Theriot first killed Summer Ernest, 20, believed to be his girlfriend, her father, Billy Ernest, 43, and her brother, Tanner Ernest, 17, on Courtney Road.

Theriot had been staying with the Ernest family for a couple of weeks. Two children inside the home, a seven-year-old and a one-year-old, were unharmed.

The suspect then left the scene in Billy Ernest’s truck and drove south on LA-447 towards Ascension Parish, according to police.

Webre says Theriot traveled to his parents’ trailer on Churchpoint Road, went inside and shot both his mother, Elizabeth Theriot, and his father, Keith Theriot, in their bedroom. They were both 51, according to the sheriff.

Police found both victims alive at the scene, according to Webre, and Keith was able to identify his son. They were transported to a hospital but later died.

“We do not have a motive,” said Ard. “There is no red flags, no sign of anything.”

Prior to his arrest, police had said Weber might be traveling east, armed with at least one handgun.

Ard says Theriot had one prior run-in with police in Livingston Parrish, for “misdemeanor simple possession of drug paraphernalia.”</s>A Louisiana man who authorities say killed five people, including his own parents, was caught Sunday following a day-long manhunt that spanned multiple states.

Dakota Theriot, 21, shot and killed his girlfriend, her father and her brother before driving to a neighboring county, where he killed his parents, authorities said. Theriot then drove more than 1,000 miles northeast to Richmond County in Virginia, where he was arrested Sunday morning.

Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said the rampage began shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday, when authorities in Livingston Parish, east of Baton Rouge, received a 911 call about three victims who had been shot. Those victims were the suspect’s girlfriend, Summer Earnest, 20; her father, Billy Earnest, 43; and her younger brother, Tanner Earnest, 17.

Ard said there were two children inside the home, ages 7 and 1. They were not harmed.

Theriot then stole Billy Earnest’s 2004 Dodge pickup truck and drove to Ascension Parish, about 30 miles away, and shot his parents, Elizabeth and Keith Theriot, both 50, inside their trailer, authorities said.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said the suspect’s father was still alive when officers arrived and was able to tell them that his son had shot him.

Dakota Theriot previously lived with his parents before they asked him to leave a couple of weeks ago, authorities said. It’s unclear why.

He then moved in with his girlfriend and her family in the Livingston Parish home. Authorities said they had just started dating.

After the shooting, Theriot drove for 16 hours overnight to Warsaw, Virginia, where his grandmother lives, Richmond County Sheriff Stephan Smith told the Advocate newspaper. His grandmother and other family members had moved to a hotel in case Theriot tried to contact them. When he arrived early Sunday morning, two deputies were at the house, Smith said.

Smith, who did not immediately return a call and email from The Washington Post, told the Advocate that Theriot seemed tired and made statements about the slaying of his parents, his girlfriend, and her father and brother.
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Authorities said they still do not have a motive in the killings. Theriot had been arrested once for minor drug possession, but he did not have previous encounters with police that would have hinted at the likelihood of violence.

“For someone to do that, someone so young, someone connected to his victims, the fact that the family took him in and this is the end result, it’s kind of jarring for all of us,” said Lori Steele, spokeswoman for the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Theriot will face five counts of first-degree murder, among other charges.

Steele said officials have no information yet on what specific type of weapon Theriot used or how he obtained it.
A 21-year-old man shoots and kills five people, including his parents and girlfriend, in two Louisiana parishes. The suspect fled to Virginia and was arrested the next day.