Juror hauled off to jail during trial of minister who led beatdown of a gay teen [View all]
Source: Associated Press
By MITCH WEISS & HOLBROOK MOHR, Associated Press · Tuesday, June 6, 2017
A judge held a juror in contempt and declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a North Carolina church minister charged in the beating a congregant who says he was attacked to expel his “homosexual demons.”
Superior Court Judge Gary Gavenus immediately sentenced the juror, Terry Shade Jr., to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Gavenus said the juror brought in three documents, including one related to North Carolina law, but it wasn’t the right law pertaining to the charges in the case. Gavenus said he had warned the jurors not to bring in outside material.
“You are under arrest,” Gavenus said. “Get him out of here.”
Brooke Covington, 58, a longtime minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, faced up to two years in prison if convicted on charges of kidnapping and assaulting former member Matthew Fenner in January 2013. Covington was the first of five church members to face trial in the case. Each defendant will be tried separately. Covington’s trial began May 30. It was not immediately clear when a new trial would take place. The judge ordered everyone involved in the case not to talk to reporters.
Read more: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/06/juror-hauled-off-jail-trial-minister-led-beatdown-gay-teen/
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