Staff report
Authorities charged a Salisbury man with cockfighting after going to his home to investigate catalytic converter thefts from a local car dealership.
Christopher Mark Stewart, 28, of 1788 Kluttz Road, is charged with breaking and entering or preparing to commit burglary, two counts of misdemeanor larceny and one count of felony larceny in addition to the cockfighting charge.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office began investigating after someone stole catalytic converters from Cloninger Ford’s Julian Road overflow lot on Sept. 2 or 3.
When deputies arrived at Stewart’s Kluttz Road home, they found several things that aroused their suspicions, including a shop on the property with metal items laying around and a bag in the living room that contained burglary tools, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The deputies also discovered a group of roosters in pens on the property. Searching inside the home, they found a tape labeled “cockfighting” and a box of spurs, said Rowan Sheriff’s Sgt. Chad Moose.
The Salisbury Police Department is looking into similar catalytic converter thefts.
Both investigations continue.
Stewart was in the Rowan County Detention Center on Wednesday under a $15,000 bond.