A Newberry man arrested earlier this month has been charged with violating a no-contact protective order. He’s also charged with felony possession of methamphetamine.

Eric Joseph Townsend, 35, Newberry, was arrested by Deputy Jordan Allor of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department on Friday, November 6. Townsend was initially held without bond pending court appearance.

When Townsend appeared in Greene Superior Court on Thursday, November 12, a public defender was appointed to represent him and he was charged with:

• Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and

• Invasion of privacy in violation of a protective order, a Class A misdemeanor.

His bond was set at $10,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $1,000 and has since been released.

A woman in Newberry had a valid no-contact protective order against Townsend and sheriff’s deputies were at her house after an incident was reported on November 5. She was told to call back if Townsend returned.

On November 6, the woman called the sheriff’s department and said Townsend was back.

Deputy Allor was dispatched and when he talked to the woman at her residence, she said Townsend hit a pole in the back of her house with his car on November 5, then left before deputies arrived. She said he had just been in the residence again, sitting in the bedroom, asking to use a phone so he could call the sheriff’s department to give his side of the story. He then left and went to another residence.

When Deputy Allor talked to Townsend, he said he owns the residence where the woman lives and he didn’t like the deputy asking him questions about being there. But he allegedly admitted he was on probation and knew he had violated the terms of the protective order and was going to jail.

A witness confirmed they saw Townsend take the front of his vehicle and put it against a pole in the back of the woman’s residence then push the pole over.

In a search prior to transporting Townsend to the sheriff’s department, he was allegedly found with a small bag in a pocket that contained a white crystal substance that later field-tested positive as methamphetamine.