Blotter: Kannapolis man charged with 15 counts of sexually exploiting of minor

Published 12:00 am Monday, August 2, 2021

By Natalie Anderson
natalie.anderson@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — A Kannapolis man was arrested Friday for 15 felony counts of second- and third-degree sexual exploitation of minors.

Andrew Eddings, 33, was charged for possessing and duplicating images in February that depicted children as young as 3 and up to 14 years old performing sexual acts alone or being subject to sexual acts with adults. In child sexual exploitation cases, an offender is charged per image or per video possessed.

Eddings was charged by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and booked in the Rowan County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond.

In other weekend crime reports:

• David Wayne Hastings of Cleveland was charged Saturday with two felony counts of possessing a schedule one controlled substance and one felony count of possessing a schedule two controlled substance. Additionally, Hastings was charged with a misdemeanor count of simple possession of a schedule three controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor child abuse. The arrest was made on behalf of Forsyth County.

• Bethani Ann Gallagher, 27, of Salisbury was charged Friday with felony breaking and entering and felony larceny after allegedly stealing more than $1,600 in merchandise at Walmart. Gallagher was previously banned from Walmart stores in 2019 after an incident at a location in Lexington. On Friday, she allegedly filled a shopping cart up with 145 different items of clothing, food and toiletries and fled by ramming a door in the garden section with a shopping cart. Police caught her at the nearby Cracker Barrel after she fled on foot.

• Michael Hamilton, 45, of Salisbury was charged Sunday with felony possession and felony possession with intent to manufacture/sell/distribute crack cocaine — a schedule two controlled substance. Hamilton was also charged with misdemeanor resisting a public officer after allegedly giving a false name and address when the officer was investigating a verbal disturbance. Hamilton was booked into the Rowan County Detention Center with a $14,000 bond.

• Rufus Jerome Smith, 58, of Salisbury was arrested Friday for felony possession and felony possession with intent to sell/manufacture/distribute crack cocaine.

• Paul Clayton Holshouser, 56, of Salisbury was charged with misdemeanor resisting a public officer for an incident that occurred on June 23 when Holhouser allegedly gave an officer a false name during a larceny investigation and wouldn’t disclose information about a getaway vehicle.

About Natalie Anderson

Natalie Anderson covers the city of Salisbury, politics and more for the Salisbury Post. She joined the staff in January 2020 after graduating from Louisiana State University, where she was editor of The Reveille newspaper. Email her at natalie.anderson@salisburypost.com or call her at 704-797-4246.

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