Eddie Long Could Take Witness Stand in Burglary Case
Bishop Eddie Long, who recently avoided trial in a sexual misconduct case against him, could be called to testify about a break into his office at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church if a burglary case goes to trial.
Anthony Boyd, who formerly worked at the Atlanta megachurch as a security guard, is accused of breaking into Long's office on June 12, 2010 and stealing $100,000 worth of jewelry and electronics, including an iPad and iPhone. On Tuesday, he appeared with his lawyer David Fife in court to enter a not guilty plea to the burglary charges.
Fife said that if the case goes to trial, which he expects it to, Long will likely be called to the stand.
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"He's certainly a witness that would have to be called by somebody. The state or the defense," Fife told WSB Atlanta.
Investigators said security cameras captured video of two men using a key to gain entry to the office.
Boyd said that he was never involved in the church burglary. He claims that Maurice Robinson and Anthony Flagg, two of the four young men who filed sexual coercion lawsuits against Long in September, broke into the office to collect evidence against Long for the lawsuit. That case was dismissed in May after Long and his accusers reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount.
During the month before the sex lawsuit went public, Bishop Long had asked the DeKalb County district attorney to drop the burglary charges against Boyd and Robinson but his request was denied.
Robinson accepted entry into a pretrial diversion program in exchange for having the charges dropped. Boyd was offered the same program but declined. Flagg was not charged.
Fife said his client wants a trial to defend his innocence.
"He wants to fight these charges. He wants to fight these accusations because he's forever going to have to explain them every time someone does a Google search on Anthony Boyd," said Fife, according to WSB Atlanta.
