Stark City residents arrested, items stolen from Newtonia Community Building recovered

(From the Newton County Sheriff's Office)

On October 8, 2026 at approximately 6PM, deputies with the Newton County Sheriff’s Officer were dispatched to the area of 23524 E. Hwy 86 in the Stark City area for a theft in progress. Upon arrival of deputies in the area, they learned that a suspect had just stolen a UTV in the area and the owner of the UTV was currently detaining the suspect at gunpoint. 

The suspect was identified as Scottie Nunez, a 30-year-old male from the Stark City area. Nunez was taken into custody and transported to the Newton County Jail. 

Deputies remained in the area and continued with their investigation. Deputies then located Shyanna Sales, a 31-year-old female, in the area who is a known associate of Nunez. 

During the contact with Shyanna, she was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. Shyanna was taken into custody for possession of drug paraphernalia. As deputies continued their investigation, they learned of possible stolen property that was located inside of Shyanna Sales house. A detective was called in, and a search warrant was obtained for the residence. 

During a search of her residence, possible stolen property was located and seized as evidence. Investigators continued with their investigation and confirmed on October 9, 2026 that the items seized from her residence were recently stolen from the Newtonia Community Center. 

Detectives with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office have submitted charges to the Newton County Prosecutor for review on both subjects. Scottie Nunez is currently in custody for Vehicle Theft. Shyanna Sales is currently in custody for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and for Receiving Stolen Property.

“I want to publicly acknowledge our deputies for going above and beyond the initial call of a motor vehicle theft and for their work to find additional stolen property. I am proud of our deputies and I’m proud of the work they do each day to keep our community safe. I am also glad that we were able to recover some of the property that was taken from the Newtonia Community.”