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March 28, 2024

First charges issued here for violating Stay at Home order

On Thursday, April 2, 2020, officers of the Taylorsville Police Department drew the first charges for people violating the Governor’s Stay at Home Order.

Ashley Nicole Pierce, 31 of Granite Falls, was charged with Larceny and Violation of the Stay At Home order.

Shannon Lee Benfield, 40 of Hickory, had a Criminal Summons issued for Concealment of Merchandise and Violation of the Stay at Home law issued against him.

Finally, a charge of Violating the Stay at home order was added to Charges of Larceny and Second Degree Trespass against Taylorsville resident Stephanie Karis, 46 years of age.

“The Taylorsville Police Department respects the need for people to perform essential life functions, but larceny, trespass, and concealment of merchandise are not essential life functions,” stated Acting Police Chief Douglas Bowman.

5 Comments

  1. Harry Poovey on April 2, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    A SINCERE THANK YOU!!!……FOR WHAT YOU DO TO HONOR AND KEEP SAFE THE GOOD CITIZENS OF ALEXANDER COUNTY.

  2. Kathy Yordy on April 2, 2020 at 9:49 pm

    I am not a Taylorsville resident, but, live in Hickory. I hope these people get fined and jailed for endangering the lives of others. I am truly amazed at the arrogance these persons exhibited.
    Thank you to the police officers for enforcing the law.
    Thanks should also be given to the governor for his decision,in an attempt, to save our communities and, thus, our lives.

  3. Phoebe Roten on April 2, 2020 at 10:42 pm

    I hope people finally see the police department’s are going to enforce the stay at home order and hopefully this will slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities and may save the lives of newborns and toddlers as well as our elderly and people who already have compromised Immune systems. Stopping shoplifters is just a bonus. Thank you for your service and stay safe.

  4. Debra Tidwell on April 3, 2020 at 11:53 am

    I live in Rowan county and my son is a police officer in one of the towns here. I want to say thank you to these police officers for making this statement when they arrested and charged these individuals with their crimes including the stay at home order. Our law enforcement places their lives on the line every day they put their uniform on and now they face an invisible enemy everyday without complaint just like health care workers. So again, thank you for everything you do. It does not hold unnoticed.

  5. Good citizen on April 3, 2020 at 2:25 pm

    It’s funny how we have the “stay at home order” but you can still go to grocery stores around people who we don’t know if they have the virus, and you can also do many other activities such as go see doctors, go to car shops, and ect. There is no consistency with this order in place because at the end of the day, if you are able to go out and do things you are endangering people. Make no sense to me

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