Former Ranlo Reserve Police Officer Dell Garren has been charged with stalking for the second time this year.
After being accused of stalking a Cherryville woman earlier this year, new complaints from the same woman allege Garren continued to stalk and harass her despite being told by Cherryville police not to contact her again.
In an initial appearance Thursday, prosecutor Kristen Northrup said Garren and the complainant had a brief relationship in 2019, and the woman has since moved on.
Garren was previously ordered not to have any contact with the woman and has since been seen in photos and video surveillance footage hiding in the woods behind her home, entering her car and following her new partner, Northrup said.
The complaint states that Garren also repeatedly drives past the woman’s home on a cul-de-sac and tries to contact her on Instagram.
During his first appearance, Garren said the woman’s new partner follows him, not the other way around.
Dan Renn of the Cherryville Police Department, another department where Garren previously worked, said that given the prior case involving the complainant and Garren, the department felt it best to act quickly if they felt they had enough evidence to to make an arrest.
“In cases like this it is absolutely important to take action as quickly as possible,” he said.
Northrup requested Garren wear a monitor so police can see if he returns to the woman’s home. Gaston County District Court Judge Donald Rice set Garren’s bail at $250,000 and will require Garren to wear a monitor with a curfew of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. if he is released.
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This article originally appeared in The Gaston Gazette: Former Ranlo police officer charged with stalking
