A 40-year-old Nebo man is sitting in the Burke County jail with no possibility of bond after deputies charged him with 10 felony counts tied to a child sex offense investigation that began earlier this month. Cody Warren Myers, who lives at 5756 Harmony Grove Road, was taken into custody yesterday and now faces seven counts of felony statutory rape of a child under 15 and three counts of felony statutory sex offense with a child under 15.
According to the Burke County Sheriff's Office, the investigation into a reported sex offense involving a child began on August 7. Deputies obtained arrest warrants for Myers, and court records reviewed by Catawba Valley News and Weather show Burke County Magistrate David Stikeleather issued all 10 felony warrants at 1:52 p.m. on August 11. Myers was served with the warrants five minutes later and booked into jail at 2:13 p.m. under a mandatory pretrial integrity hold, per those same court records.
Myers was transported to the Burke County Magistrate's Office following his arrest and was formally denied bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, August 13.
Why a Magistrate Couldn't Set Bail
The no-bond status is not a magistrate's discretionary call — it is required under state law. North Carolina's Pretrial Integrity Act of 2023 and Iryna's Law, enacted as S.L. 2025-93, strip magistrates of the authority to set bail conditions for severe violent and sex offenses, instead creating a rebuttable presumption against release, according to the UNC School of Government. That framework requires a district court judge to evaluate the bond decision within 72 hours of arrest. Court filings cited by the same Catawba outlet indicate that review happened on schedule: a district court judge examined Myers' hold at 8:42 a.m. on August 12 and left the no-bond status in place.
The charges themselves carry significant weight under state sentencing rules. Statutory rape of a child under 15 and statutory sex offense with a child under 15 are classified as high-level felonies, including Class B1, which carry mandatory active prison sentences upon conviction, per guidelines from the NC Sentencing Commission. Myers has not been convicted, and Thursday's hearing is a procedural bond review rather than a trial on the merits.
Multiple Agencies Coordinated the Case
The investigation drew in agencies beyond Burke County. The Burke County Sheriff's Office, the Catawba County Sheriff's Office, and regional child victim advocates worked the case across county lines, according to WCAB News. The Burke County Children's Advocacy Center was also involved. Operated by Southmountain Children and Family Services at 503 South Green Street in Morganton, the center provides forensic interviewing, medical examinations, and victim advocacy when referred directly by law enforcement or child protective services, per the Burke County Children's Advocacy Center.
Myers lives in Nebo, an unincorporated community of roughly 1,790 residents in eastern McDowell County along U.S. Route 70, sitting directly on the Burke County line, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. The straddling geography helps explain why investigators from two different sheriff's offices ended up working together on the case.
A Similar Case Earlier This Year
This is not the first time this year Burke County authorities have pursued severe child sex crime charges against a Nebo-area resident. In April, deputies arrested Michael Gavin Smith on multiple charges including statutory rape of a child by an adult, holding him without bond before a judge later set a $1 million secured bond during court proceedings, as Hoodline previously reported. In that case, regional law enforcement officials asked residents to route any information about active child sex offense cases to sheriff's office tip lines rather than sharing unverified claims on social media.
The Myers case also reflects a broader shift playing out in county jails statewide. Since Iryna's Law expanded no-bond rules across North Carolina, county facilities have seen longer pretrial detention stays as defendants wait for their mandatory district court bond hearings, a trend Hoodline has tracked in coverage of Charlotte's jail crowding. For now, Myers remains held in the Burke County jail without bond, with his next court appearance set for Thursday.
