A judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial
in the case of a North Carolina minister charged with the assaulting
and kidnapping of a gay church member.
According to the AP, Superior Court
Judge Gary Gavenus declared a juror, 71-year-old Perry Shade, Jr., in
contempt, sentencing him to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine for
distributing three documents to his fellow jurors. “One of the
documents was North Carolina case law,” the AP reported.
Word of Faith Fellowship minister
Brooke Covington is one of five people charged with the January 2013
beating of Matthew Fenner.
Fenner, 23, testified that roughly 30
church members participated in holding him against his will as they
beat, choked and screamed at him for two hours. Fenner said that his
attackers told him that they wanted to “expel his homosexual
demons.”
Gavneus said that he was uncertain when
a new trial would be scheduled for Covington, 58.