SALISBURY — A Spencer man with a history of assault charges — including a recent incident in which he was accused of groping a woman passing by on the sidewalk — has been indicted by a grand jury as a habitual felon.

Billy Floyd Pless Jr., 65, whose last known address was the 700 block of Third Street, was indicted on charges of habitual misdemeanor assault.

Pless, who was charged in August with misdemeanor sexual battery and felony second-degree kidnapping, has been in the Rowan County Detention Center since his Aug. 7 arrest. He is being held under a $25,000 secured bond.

A 27-year-old woman told police that she was walking home from a friend’s house on South Jake Alexander Boulevard about 7 a.m. Aug. 7. She crossed the road near Klumac Road and South Main Street, and a man in a van, later identified as Pless, called out to her.

The woman told Salisbury police officers that the man opened his side door and asked her to help him lift a canvas bag. He got out of the van, and she tried to walk away. A police report said Pless grabbed the woman from behind, turned her around, squeezed her face and kissed her. She tried to get free, and he grabbed her again and groped her, the report said.

The woman kicked Pless in the groin and he fell to his knees, and she then ran home. She told a cousin and her boyfriend about what happened, and they encouraged her to report the incident to police, according to a report.

Another of Pless’ most recent arrests came in May 2016 on a trespassing charge after Pless refused to leave a downtown Salisbury business. He was playing a piano in front of Growing Pains Consignment Shop, 122 S. Main St., when he said something inappropriate to a customer going into the shop, according to a Salisbury Police Department report. Pless was asked to leave but refused, and he became aggressive with store workers, the report said.

Pless has had a number of run-ins with local authorities including in June 2015 when he was charged after he refused to leave Hendrix Barbecue after the business closed. Authorities said Pless repeatedly dialed 911 to get a ride to his van, which was parked at a nearby repair shop.

In January 2015, Pless was taken to court for communicating threats against a woman. He was found guilty and received a suspended sentence in that case, but after court, he slammed into the woman with his motorized wheelchair.

Rowan County authorities say that as woman waited to get on the elevator after the case concluded, Pless told her, “Get out of my way, gal.” He knocked her against a wall and bruised her leg, authorities said.

Pless has 30 convictions that include assault on a female, communicating threats, domestic criminal trespass, assault with a deadly weapon, hit and run, harassing phone calls and disorderly conduct.

His criminal record dates to 1982, when he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in both May and July of that year.

In 1983 and 1986, he was convicted of assault on a female. He was convicted in 1992 of trespassing and in 1997 of communicating threats.

In September 2013, Pless was convicted on assault and battery charges.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.