By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

A woman with a history of huffing air duster was arrested and charged this week after police caught her in the act minutes after leaving Walmart, where she’d purchased the items.

Salisbury Police charged Meghan Lofgren (Lofgrin) Salter, also known as Meghan Piwoski, 34, whose address was listed as the Rowan Helping Ministries shelter, with misdemeanor inhaling fumes for the purpose of causing intoxication.

Walmart loss prevention contacted police after they noticed a woman come into the store on Tuesday several times throughout the day and each time buying air duster spray. Every time she went into the store she seemed more incoherent and more “dirty-looking,” according to the loss prevention officer.

The loss prevention officer saw the woman leave the parking lot, go over the guardrail and down the embankment toward Towne Creek park. When the officer arrived, Salter was found lying in the embankment. The officer said he saw Salter lie down onto a can of air duster and inhaling the fumes.

In April 2015, Salter was stopped by law enforcement twice in one week because she was slumped over and incoherent behind the wheel. In that incident, Salisbury Police were called to the corner of West Franklin and North Church streets to assist Rowan EMS with a female who had been parked partially in the roadway. The vehicle was still running and the driver was slumped over the wheel when authorities arrived.

EMS personnel knocked on the window and tried to wake the woman, later identified as Salter. Once she came to and spoke with law enforcement, officers determined she had four duster spray cans in the car, two of which were already empty. There were also two 40-ounce bottles of Icehouse beer, both of which were half empty.

The officer asked if she had any other substances in the car, and she said she had a smoking pipe she used for marijuana. She was convicted of that offense in 2015 of inhaling fumes for intoxication and driving infractions.

Also in the same year, Salter was spotted by a motorist who believed she was intoxicated. The motorist saw Salter inside the vehicle staring straight ahead. She asked Salter if she was OK. Salter said she was fine. But when the motorist saw Salter nearly cause an accident with a truck, she called the police. Salter eventually turned into a Newsome Road church where she was given a field sobriety test, which she performed satisfactorily. However, police found a 5-gallon bucket in her back seat filled with empty duster spray cans.

Salter admitted to huffing and was charged with driving while license revoked and inhaling toxic fumes.

She has convictions in Cabarrus County for huffing and most recently, in 2016 for inhaling toxic fumes in Rowan County. She was also convicted in 2012 of misdemeanor possession of marijuana and misdemeanor shoplifting in 2011.

Salter has since been released from the Rowan County Detention Center under a $1,500 secured bond.