Derrick L. Cartwright, 37, of Florissant, was charged with a Class C felony of receiving stolen property in the theft of an iPhone from the Maplewood Walmart, according to court and police records.
The victim reported that her iPhone, which had her driver’s license and a credit card contained in its case, had been misplaced while she was shopping at the Walmart store in Maplewood. The phone and case were valued at $550.
A review of surveillance video showed a man picking it up from the ground near the exit. The victim sent a text message from her daughter’s phone to her stolen phone, offering a $500 reward for the return of the phone. Cartwright responded to the message, and the victim arranged to meet him at the Florissant Walgreens.
The victim notified Florissant police, who arrested Cartwright when he showed up with her phone. Cartwright told Florissant police that he had been approached by an unknown man at the Shrewsbury MetroLink station and the man had offered to trade the phone for some marijuana. Cartwright agreed and they and the swap. Cartwright told Maplewood police that he had found the phone at an unspecified location and decided to keep it rather than attempting to find its owner.