Sex offender located, charged after being involved in altercation

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, February 6, 2024

SALISBURY — A registered sex offender who failed to notify deputies of his change of address has been arrested after police say he was involved in an altercation at a home in northern Rowan County.

Deputies were initially called to a home in the 200 block of Monarch Drive in reference to an ongoing harassment incident, a spokesperson for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said. When they arrived, the deputies found a group of five people having an argument in the home.

One of the residents of the home said that one of his roommates, a woman identified as 36-year-old Tiffany Crystal Smith, had attempted to bring a friend over. The resident said that the man, identified as 26-year-old Shane Steven Hobart, was not welcome in the home because he was a registered sex offender and there was a child living at the home.

While separating the group so that he could fully understand the situation and explain that as a legal tenant Smith could invite over whoever she wanted, a deputy reportedly noticed a burnt substance on a piece of tin foil. When he asked Smith and Hobart about the substance, Smith said that it was heroin and claimed it was hers, the spokesperson said. Smith was then arrested and placed in one of the deputy’s vehicles.

A deputy took Hobart into a separate room to speak with him during the incident. There, Hobart fell onto the bed and reached into his pocket, pulling a bag of marijuana out when he removed his hand. Hobart was then arrested for possession of marijuana. During the arrest, a deputy reportedly discovered that Hobart had warrants for his arrest for failing to notify of a change of address.

Hobart was charged with failure to register as a sexual offender and placed in the Rowan County Detention Center. He was given a $10,000 bond.

Smith was charged with possession of a schedule I controlled substance and placed in the Rowan County Detention Center. She was given a $5,000 bond.