Newton County use Flock to find alleged threatening suspect

Published 1:32 pm Thursday, July 16, 2026

After being released on bond on Tuesday, Nathan Stuart of Harrison found himself back in jail on Friday.

Stuart, who was arrested for two counts of arson and two counts of criminal mischief on July 4, picked up five additional charges including two felony charges.

His bond was listed at $500K.

Stuart’s alleged day of crime started with vandalizing two trucks with spray paint. The owner of the first truck that was vandalized was the person that reported strange writing by his driveway on July 4. It was those writings that Stuart admitted doing that led to his two criminal mischief charges.

Later, the Harrison Police Department notified the Newton County Sheriff’s Office that Stuart was a suspect in a case.

A truck in Harrison had been vandalized with the same color spray paint and with letters that matched those on the truck in Newton County.

Later in the morning, a deputy encountered Stuart and interviewed him about the incidents. According to the deputy, he admitted painting the trucks. At that point, the charges were misdemeanors that were not witnessed by law enforcement, so an immediate arrest was not possible.

The deputy began the process of filing an affidavit for a warrant and Stuart left the area where he was encountered.

Later on Friday, a family vacationing in the area was returning to their rental.

“They were stopped by a man who told them they needed to pack their belongings and leave the cabin,” said Newton County sheriff Glenn Wheeler. “He then made very serious threats toward the family and spoke of burning the structure.

“The victims included two small children,” continued Wheeler. “It was also discovered he had damaged property at the cabin.”

The threats to the visiting family were not the only ones that had been made. Law enforcement determined who was to blame for those actions.

“The suspect was identified as Nathan Stuart,” said the sheriff. “He had recently bonded on arson and criminal mischief charges. Newton County officials had been advised several times since then that Stuart was making strange and threatening statements.”

It was after Stuart made the alleged threats toward the family, which are felony charges, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office joined with the 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force to look for the suspect.

Since an investigation was ongoing, officials were able to place Stuart’s automobile license plate number into the Flock reader system. It was determined that he had driven into the neighboring jurisdiction shortly after the incident at the cabin.

Officers were later notified using the Flock system that he was headed back into Newton County. Law enforcement were able to locate his truck in a local business parking lot.

Officials were able to intercept Stuart heading back in the general direction of the cabin where he had made the comments concerning burning the building.

When officers stopped Stuart, they observed in the bed of the truck nine bottles of charcoal lighter fluid that was purchased at the local business.

Stuart’s charges from Friday include: Stalking, a Class C Felony; two counts of Criminal Mischief in the first degree, a Class A Misdemeanor; Terroristic Threatening, a Class D Felony; and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Minor, a Class A Misdemeanor.

He now has nine counts listed against him.

As of press time Monday, Stuart was still in the Newton County Jail.