Man Arrested Known To Police Charged With iPhone Theft

Monday night in Newport a man called police saying his $1500 iPhone 14 had been stolen while he was at HomeTown Laundry on Cosby Hwy. The victim says he thought he may have been pick pocketed as he saw a man run from the laundromat when he noticed his phone was gone. Video footage seen by police on site showed a male subject picking the phone off a clothes folding table while the victim was not watching. That male subject was recognized by police as 48 year old Darrell Cate. The phone had been tracked to the 5 Star Apartments and then back to HomeTown Laundry. Police found Mr. Cate hiding in the bathroom at HomeTown Laundry. Cate told police that he has found the phone and was trying to get it back to the owner.

Cate was arrested and charged with theft over $1,000. While being booked into the Cocke County jail, just under a gram of methamphetamine was found inside in the brim of his hat. Cate claimed the hat had been given to him 4 days ago and the drugs were not his. Cate is now facing an additional charge of introduction of a controlled substance into a penal facility.