UPDATED:: 'Am I going to die?' Gay man testifies at church trial

UPDATE::  WoFF’s Walker trial in Matthew Fenner case continued

The State versus Robert Walker trial scheduled to have begun Monday, Oct. 23, 2017 has been continued to a future date. In a memo to Judge Marvin Pope on Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Garland F. Byers, Jr. filed an email  on Wednesday stating that “by Order of this Court without objection by the State due to new discovery which has just been generated in regards to this case and which defense counsel will need in order to adequately prepare for trial,” confirming the continuance.

The district attorney’s office at the same time notified the Buncombe County Clerk of Superior Court that the case would not be called on Monday. Presiding Judge Marvin Pope had ordered a change of venue for the Matthew Fenner cases after a mistrial was declared in the Brooke Covington case and the extensive publicity concerning the Word of Faith Fellowship members’ cases.

The WoFF has recently gained national and international publicity regarding its worship practice of blasting, alleged non-payment of Brazilian workers, broken families, arranged marriages, and possible misconduct of some of the attorneys within the church as reported by the Associated Press.

UPDATE::  Juror's documents lead to mistrial in gay beating trial

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 of a congregant who says he was attacked to expel his "homosexual demons." 

Superior Court Judge Gary Gavenus immediately sentenced the juror, Perry Shade Jr., to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Gavenus said Shade brought in three documents Tuesday and handed them out to his fellow jurors. One of the documents was North Carolina case law.

Gavenus said he wasn't sure when a new trial would be scheduled for Brooke Covington, 58, a longtime minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina. Covington faced up to two years in prison if convicted on charges of kidnapping and assaulting former member Matthew Fenner in January 2013.

"This juror has impaired the integrity and fairness of the trial ... therefore I am removing this juror and declaring a mistrial," Gavenus said.

The audience gasped. Fenner dropped his head.

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A North Carolina man thought he was "going to die" when members of his evangelical church beat and choked him for two hours to expel his "homosexual demons," he testified Thursday.

Matthew Fenner was the first person to take the stand in the assault and kidnapping trial of Brooke Covington, a 58-year-old minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina.

Fenner, 23, said Covington was the leader in a 2013 beating involving numerous congregants. He said Covington pointed out his sexual orientation, saying, "God said there is something wrong in your life."

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Covington faces up to two years in prison if convicted. She is the first of five church members to face trial in the case. Each defendant will be tried separately.

'Am I going to die?' Gay man testifies at church trial

UPDATE::Word of Faith Members Accused of Assault Appear in Court - WLOS - Asheville Top Stories - ABC

On Monday, a state prosecutor asked the judge to disqualify attorneys Josh Farmer and Mark Morris from representing five members of local church Word of Faith Fellowship.

Assistant District Attorney Garland Byers has offered a plea deal to one of the defendants, and now says there is an inherent conflict of interest for Morris and Farmer, who are of the same law practice, in representing all five. The plea deal offers Adam Bartley, who has a felony record, a reduced sentence if he testifies in court during the case.

Farmer and Morris say all five of their clients have signed consent waivers, saying they are satisfied with their current representation.

Brook Covington, Justin Covington, Sarah Anderson, Robert Walker, Jr. and Adam Bartley are facing charges of simple assault and second-degree kidnapping after an incident that allegedly happened in January 2013. 

(H/T:  In The Name Of god - The Podcast for the update)

Word of Faith Members Accused of Assault Appear in Court - WLOS - Asheville Top Stories - ABC

Anti-gay N.C. church members indicted on felony kidnapping, assault against gay man | QNotes

Five members of an anti-LGBT church in Spindale, N.C., were indicted on several felony charges this week, following a complaint lodged by a young gay man who says church members kidnapped him and assaulted him because of his sexual orientation.

A grand jury indicted Justin Brock Covington, Brooke McFadden Covington, Robert Louis Walker Jr. and Adam Christopher Bartley on second degree kidnapping and simple assault charges. A fifth member, Sarah Covington Anderson, was indicted on second degree kidnapping as well as simple assault and assault by strangulation. The grand jury met on Monday, with indictment announcements released on Tuesday.

All are members of The Word of Faith Fellowship, a church which has continually come under fire for its alleged cult-like behaviors and severe treatment of members, particularly young people. In 1995, the church was the subject of an “Inside Edition” report on its “blasting” techniques, in which a person is encircled by church members and subjected to high-pitched shrilling sounds, screams and prayers. Blasting sessions can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
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Faith in America has also been involved in past cases, including allegations of abuse made in 2012 by Michael Lowry. His allegations led the U.S. Department of Justice to initiate a hate crimes investigation. Lowry had been placed under FBI supervision, but he later recanted his story and returned to the church. According to Faith in America, Lowry has since left the church again and now claims he was manipulated into recanting his story.

Fenner is no longer a member of the church and he is now an anthropology student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His mother and brother are still members of the Spindale church and testified against Fenner in the grand jury deliberations.

Anti-gay N.C. church members indicted on felony kidnapping, assault against gay man | QNotes