Blotter: Registered sex offender arrested after violating post-release orders

Published 12:00 am Friday, April 15, 2022

SALISBURY — A Salisbury man was charged Tuesday for a sex offender registry violation after a warrant was served to search his phone that was linked to an Instagram account.

Richard William Barnett, 43, was given a warrantless search after the Rowan County Probation Office notified the Sheriff’s Office of Barnett’s post-release orders on March 21. Deputies searched his home and found a gold cellphone with Instagram opened on the screen.

Barnett admitted to owning the Instagram account. He was arrested in 1998 on two felony accounts of first degree sex offense with a child and served prison time until 2020. Barnett’s post-release orders after registering as a sex offender states he is not to have any presence on social media.

The Sheriff’s Office acquired a search warrant for the phone on March 28 and found Barnett with several online identifiers since May 2021. He was arrested on a charge of felony failure to update online identifiers and was given a $10,000 bond.

In other Salisbury Police reports:

• Chrystie Alexis Carter, 30, was arrested on a  charge of felony larceny on Tuesday.

• Walmart was victim to larceny in the 300 block of South Arlington Street in Salisbury on Wednesday. The total estimated loss was $254.

In Sheriff’s Office reports:

• James Allen Ledford, 29, was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor simple assault on an officer after deputies responded to an overdose report on the 200 block of Brown Road in China Grove on Tuesday. During the investigation, Ledford is accused of assaulting a deputy on the scene. He received a $10,000 bond pending his next court date on April 20.

• Cody Ryan Bell, 28, was arrested on a charge of felony possession of controlled schedule two substances on Tuesday.

• Thomas Jeffrey Kistler, 35, was arrested on a charge of felony possession of controlled substances on a penal institution premises on Tuesday.

• Megan Laura Snider, 34, was arrested on a charge of felony larceny on Tuesday.

• Witt Darnell Alexander, 29, was arrested on a charge of felony trafficking heroin or opium on Tuesday.

• A woman was victim of credit card fraud in the 6200 block of Old US 70 Highway in Cleveland on Tuesday. The total estimated loss was $189.

• A man reported his truck was stolen from the 1500 block of Hart Road in Woodleaf on Tuesday.