A Stone County man has admitted to trespassing and taking property from a Newnata site where more than two tons of copper, valued at roughly $12,000, were reported stolen earlier this month, authorities said.
Stone County Sheriff’s Corporal Mark Simino said he was called Sept. 12 to a property on Oak Grove Loop after a report that a lock on a gate had been cut and several items were missing. The complainant, John Webb, told deputies the thief had moved a 16-foot trailer and damaged its hitch and jack while stealing bundled copper, tools, two large commercial fans, two lift dollies, and a 22-foot extension ladder.
Webb said he captured images of the suspect on a game camera between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9 and identified him as Christopher Cartwright, of Fifty-Six, a man he had previously worked with.
During a Sept. 26 interview, Cartwright admitted to entering the property three times, cutting the chain on the gate, and attaching a trailer to his red Ford truck, according to the sheriff’s office. He said he did not have permission to be on the property and claimed the trailer belonged to a friend, though no report of its theft had been filed.
Deputies said the stolen copper was being stored for future use in equipment purchases by the owner, Henry Goodman, who confirmed Cartwright did not have access rights to the site.
Cartwright was arrested on Oct. 17, 2025. He’s currently being held at the Stone County Detention Center on a $30,000 bond.
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