Local

Women in south Charlotte neighborhood say man has been stalking them

CHARLOTTE — A south Charlotte community is on edge after several women say a man has been stalking them.

The women say they’ve been approached in Madison Park, which is along Park and Woodlawn roads.

They said the community needs protection from Ryan Knight.

The district attorney says they have received multiple complaints about Knight. He has been ordered to stay away from Marion Diehl Park after a hearing Monday in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse where he faces multiple charges. The latest charge is felony stalking.

The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office is taking the charges pending against Knight very seriously.

Knight faces multiple charges including indecent exposure at Marion Diehl Park in 2020.

Felony stalking charges were filed last week after the DA said Knight followed a woman through her neighborhood in Madison Park.

>>Watch Channel 9′s LIVE STREAM wherever you are, at this link

“I was really terrified and I just knew something bad was about to happen,” said the accuser in the Madison Park case.

The accuser, who did not want to be identified, said she was followed on her daily walk two days in a row and then chased.

Now, the woman doesn’t feel safe in her home.

“If he gets out, we don’t know how we are going to live in the neighborhood,” she said.

Knight’s bond was increased from $5,000 to $15,000.

Channel 9 spoke with Knight’s parents outside the courtroom. They said Knight has a mental disability and would never hurt anyone. They say he needs help and not jail.

An assistant district attorney also mentioned prior charges including two counts of misdemeanor stalking in 2017 in New Hanover.

He was convicted of communicating threats in Montgomery County in 2019.

VIDEO: 2 women say man accused of kidnapping, murdering woman stalked them

Hannah Goetz

Hannah Goetz, wsoctv.com

Hannah is a reporter for WSOC-TV.