Charges from Stanly, Montgomery counties roll in for accused vandals

Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 19, 2012

By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Stanly County deputies tacked on another 28 charges for two accused vandals in the Rowan County jail.
Authorities served the warrants Tuesday on 21-year-old Bryan Matthew Balser and 19-year-old Daniel Tyler Huneycutt.
The two men were taken into custody in March when a China Grove Police officer found the two in possession of drugs and guns in a hotel room in downtown China Grove, authorities said.
Then the charges began to roll in.
The next day, police charged Huneycutt with 45 charges, most of them felonies, in connection with burglaries in China Grove.
They also charged Balser with 33 more felony charges.
Rowan County investigators said the two men spray-painted graffiti, including satanic symbols and vulgar statements, on churches and the Warrior Golf Course.
The two have also been charged with vandalizing a China Grove Middle School baseball dugout and the China Grove Town Hall.
On Tuesday, the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office charged Balser and Huneycutt with 14 counts each of injury to real property.
The men spray-painted property at Baptist, Methodist and AME Zion churches across the county, according to arrest warrants. They were also accused of damaging several business and church signs in Oakboro.
Both received additional $5,000 bonds, upping their totals well above $1 million apiece.
Authorities in Rowan, Anson, Stanly and Montgomery counties have charged the two with crimes.
According to court records, Montgomery County began filing charges against the two on April 4.
As of Wednesday, warrants on 54 additional felony charges had been served against each.
Huneycutt and Balser, both of Albemarle, are scheduled to appear in court on April 24.
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.
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