NEOSHO, Mo. — The Newton County prosecutor’s office filed six felony counts Wednesday against a Neosho man in connection with recent thefts of electrical wire and boxes from barns and well houses in the southeast sector of the county.
Darrel L. Francisco, 41, was charged with two counts of stealing, three counts of property damage and a single count of manufacturing methamphetamine.
The Newton County Sheriff’s Department arrested Francisco on Monday night at his home in Neosho after serving a search warrant. Suspected stolen electrical wire and boxes and an alleged meth lab were seized at the home.
Documents filed in court Wednesday accuse Francisco of having a hand in the thefts of electrical wire on Jan. 2 from farms on Zebra Drive and Mulberry Road, and on Jan. 4 from a farm east of Newtonia. A probable-cause affidavit estimates the combined property damage at the three properties at $17,000.
Investigators reportedly found receipts showing that Francisco had sold 198 pounds of copper, 29 pounds of brass and 351 pounds of batteries to a scrap-metal business for $535.95. Much of the material is believed to have been stolen from the three properties in question, according to the affidavit.
