Eddie Long Accuser Arrested On Drug Charges

ATLANTA -- One of the four men who accused Bishop Eddie Long of sexual misconduct was arrested this week in Florida on suspicion of being a drug dealer.


Jamal Parris, 24, was driving a white 2011 BMW in Miami Beach Tuesday evening when a Florida Highway Patrol officer noticed that it had no tags.


Sgt. Seth Dubinsky stopped the car. When he approached it, he smelled marijuana, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday.


Dubinsky searched the car and said he found 181 grams of marijuana, which is worth about $1,000 on the street. He said he also found 50 clear plastic baggies and a Taurus semiautomatic handgun. He said Parris also was carrying $1,250 in cash.


The gear was "indicative of a drug dealer," Dubinsky said. Parris was arrested and jailed. He was charged with two felony counts: possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm while committing a felony. He also was charged with operating a motor vehicle with no registration, a misdemeanor. It was unclear late Thursday whether he was still in custody.


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Dr. King’s Daughter Says She’s Leaving Eddie Long’s Church

Your Black World Reports.

The Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., announced that she is going to step down as one of the elders at the church headed by the Bishop Eddie Long.  King made the announcement that she is leaving New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on a radio show, but claims that her decision has nothing to do with the sexual misconduct suits filed against Bishop Long.

King has stood with Long as he has marched against gay marriage in the past.  She is leaving with Bishop Long’s blessing, and says she’d been planning to move for a couple of years.

During his first sermon after settling the lawsuit against him, Bishop Long made no mention of the case, and focused the congregation on the importance of moving forward.  According to the suit, four men accused Long of coercing them into having sexual relations by using his power, trips and gifts to convince the young men to engage in sexual relations.

Bishop Eddie Long’s Church Leaders Rush to Move Past the Scandal

The crowd still cheered for Bishop Eddie Long as he took the pulpit Sunday, but gone was the air of defiance that defined his appearance eight months ago when he rallied his congregation to battle amid lawsuits accusing the megachurch pastor of sexual misconduct.

Just days after settling the lawsuits filed by four young men who used to attend New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, the message was one of progress and prosperity to the several hundred gathered. The choir opened the two-hour 8 a.m. service with the gospel hymn “Moving Forward,” which began: “I’m not going back, I’m moving ahead. Here to declare to you my past is over.”

Long addressed a far smaller group than the one gathered back in September, when he compared himself to the Bible’s ultimate underdog and vowed to fight like David versus Goliath against accusations that he abused his spiritual authority and coerced four young men into sexual relationships with gifts including cars, cash and travel. Then, thousands of supporters and observers packed the 10,000-seat sanctuary, which took on the atmosphere of an arena.

After Sunday’s opening hymn, the service was decidedly focused on the church, not its controversial leader. For months, the scandal tainted Long’s reputation as an influential spiritual leader who transformed his suburban Atlanta congregation of 150 into a following of 25,000 members and an international televangelist empire that included athletes, entertainers and politicians.

Long did not address the allegations or the settlement from the pulpit. Details of the resolution have not been disclosed.

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BY http://yourblackworld.com/

ATLANTA: Bishop Eddie Long Settles Sexual Coercion Suit With Four Young Men

It appears that Atlanta's Bishop Eddie Long has paid off the four young men who last year accused him of coercing them into totally gay homosexual sex. Long had regularly and viciously railed against LGBT people from his megachurch pulpit.

Barbara Marschalk, who represents New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Long Fellows Youth Academy, said she anticipates " the lawsuits will be dismissed, with prejudice, by close of business tomorrow." B.J. Bernstein, who represents the four men who sued Long, New Birth and LongFellows, also confirmed the lawsuits had been settled. Neither side would comment further and settlement terms were unknown. According to Bernstein's office, neither she nor the plaintiffs -- Maurice Robinson, Jamal Parris, Anthony Flagg and Spencer LeGrande -- would be available for an interview "on this matter, now or in the future. "

TD Jakes Addresses The Eddie Long Sex Scandal. by First Day Church Atlanta