Thursday, February 25, 2010

Another Gun at Church

Brothers stop gun-wielding cousin from entering church

Posted: Feb. 24, 2010

Two brothers are being hailed as heroes in Louisburg after they stopped a man with a gun from entering a church last weekend.

James White had been asked to leave St. Delight United Church of Christ, on U.S. Highway 401 south of Louisburg, on Saturday morning after acting inappropriately, according to his cousin, Michael White.

A short time later, when as many as 30 people were inside the church feeding needy residents, James White returned with a rifle.

"He made a statement, 'Stop me from coming in my church now. Stop me from coming in now,'" said Michael White, who was outside the church at the time.

"Upon doing so, he started to raise the rifle," he said. "I didn't think. (There was) not much time to think. I knew that, once he got the gun into a full crest, he would be in total control."

Michael White's brother, Steven White, saw him grab the barrel of the rifle and begin struggling with their cousin. He then joined the fray.

"I didn't think about fear or anything else. All I thought about is what might have had happened if we didn't get that gun up out of his hand," Steven White said.

The brothers wrestled James White to the ground and pulled the rifle from his hands. One shot was fired in the struggle, but no one was hit.

Franklin County Sheriff Pat Green said James White had enough ammunition to shoot a dozen people.

Church members said the brothers' quick action was nothing short of heroic.

James White, 52, of 190 George Leonard Road in Louisburg, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. He was being held Wednesday at Central Prison under a $75,000 bond.

Green said James White has a mental illness and was combative when he was taken to jail.

"I don't know what his intentions were – how far he would have gone. I just don't know. I can't get into his head," said Michael White, who added that he hopes his cousin will get the help he needs.


Copyright 2010 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Church Official Charged with Sexual Misconduct

Pamplico church official faces criminal sexual conduct charges
By Jamie Rogers | Morning News Reporter
Published: February 17, 2010

PAMPLICO—A Pamplico man was arrested in Clarendon County after deputies believe he sexually assaulted two children at the Turbeville church where he was employed, Clarendon County Sheriff’s Detective Rick Elms said.

Arley Atchley,53, of 4181 Sheminally Road is charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, Elms said.

Clarendon deputies were investigating another unrelated sexual assault case at the Free Will Baptist Home for Children in Turbeville when two boys who lived at the complex told a minister that the suspect had sexually assaulted them.

The alleged assaults happened sometime during the suspect’s tenure at the home which was from 2004 to 2009 when he was laid off, Elms said.

Deputies said after leaving the children’s home he was employed at a Pamplico church but it is unclear if he is still working there.

Atchley was arrested Thursday and was released from the Clarendon County Detention Center. Bond and date of release information wasn’t available from the center.

Elms said the unrelated sexual assault case at Free Will Baptist Home for Children is an ongoing investigation. He declined to comment further on the case.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Two Teens Charged With attempting to burn Anderson SC Church

ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) -- Two South Carolina teens have been accused of trying to burn a church and school.

Multiple media outlets reported that the boys, ages 13 and 14, were arrested early Tuesday in Anderson County. Their names were not released because of their ages.

Anderson County sheriff's Sgt. Andy Tribble says each boy is charged with second-degree arson and three counts of second-degree burglary.

A deputy's report says firefighters and deputies found a piece of paper burning in the middle of about two gallons of diesel fuel in an unlocked storage room at Homeland Park Elementary School.

Tribble says the boys were found about a mile away at Homeland Park Baptist Church, where they had broken in and tried to start another fire.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Monday, February 15, 2010

Three men Shoot Up Church Service

In a brazen attack in the East Bay Sunday, three men stormed a church in Richmond, opening fire during a service at the New Gethsemane Church. Two teenagers were hit by the bullets and the gunmen got away.

New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ is a very spiritual church. About 175 church members were engaged in open prayer and gospel music was blaring when the shooting happened.

Several people in the church were keenly aware of three young male suspects, possibly teenagers, who walked into the sanctuary around noon. Witnesses say they were wearing black hoodies over their heads which raised a red flag.

Still, nobody thought they would pull out guns and start shooting.

Richmond police say they wounded two male victims. A 14-year-old and a 19-year-old suffered non-live threatening injuries to the ankle and shoulder.

"I even got my praise off. I instantly got paranoid," said church member Dianne Brown. "I turned around the whole time. Then, the other guys came off the choir stands, you know, the men that felt it too."

"In spite of the shooting that took place, Pastor Leviaz said he wasn't going to let anything stop God's program," said Rev. Andre Shumake, president of the Richmond Improvement Association. "So in spite of the shooting, I want the world to know that here at New Gethsemane, Gods' program continues. He held service, they sung they prayed and they worshiped God as though nothing had happened."

The church and surrounding neighborhood was locked down for at least one hour until police could secure the area. Richmond crime scene investigators believe the suspects fired about five shots inside the church.

The three shooting suspects are still at large.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Church Youth Leader Admits Sexual Battery of 14 Year old

Lakeport church youth leader admits sexual battery

Published: Monday, February 1, 2010 at 10:21 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 1, 2010 at 11:59 a.m.

A Lake County church youth counselor has pleaded guilty to sexual battery on a 14-year-old girl.

Christopher Andrew Puryear, 23, of Kelseyville, faces a sentence that ranges from probation to five years in prison, said Lake County Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg.

Puryear was arrested in December after church leaders from Gateway Ministries church outside Lakeport reported he was having inappropriate contacts with at least one teen in a youth group. He was spending a great of time with girls in the group and sending them text messages, they reported.

During the investigation, deputies learned of the Nov. 25 sexual assault at a church function. Puryear asked the girl to go outside to talk, then assaulted her, stopping only after someone else came outside, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

In exchange for his guilty plea, charges of forced oral copulation and dissuading a witness were dropped in connection with Puryear's assault on the girl and a charge of domestic assault on his wife was dropped, Borg said.

The domestic assault on Puryear's wife occurred after the assault on the girl, Borg said. Puryear also had a prior conviction for domestic assault, he said.

As part of the agreement, reached Friday, Puryear also admitted to serving a prior prison sentence for carrying a concealed or concealable weapon, an admission that could add a year to his sentence, Borg said.

Had he not made the plea agreement, Puryear could have faced a sentence of more than nine years in prison, said his attorney, Stephen Carter.

Puryear is scheduled to be sentenced March 5.