Tag Archives: Adam Bartley

Plea Offered to Defendant Adam Bartley in Matthew Fenner Case- rccatalyst.com

Saturday, August 01, 2015, in a stunning revelation, rccatalyst.com reported a plea was offered to Adam Bartley on July 22nd. The plea includes dismissal of the Second Degree Kidnapping charge in exchange for a guilty plea on a count Simple Assault. Under this plea agreement, Mr. Bartley would serve no additional prison time but will serve supervised probation. The letter conveying the plea from Garland Byers is in the article as well as the request for Tomblin, Farmer and Morris to withdraw from counsel. The letter was hand delivered to Caleb Farmer at 11:02AM per Garland Byers. See article Plea offered to Bartley. Use the BACK ARROW to return to this post.

No official word if Mr. Bartley has accepted the plea. He may need to secure new counsel before he can officially accept and begin negotiations. Folks, this looks like a great deal for Adam Bartley. No prison time if he agrees to testify to the happenings on that fateful night? Risk going back to jail for what? Why would he not accept? Why did the District Attorney offer the plea to Bartley? My opinion is since this defendant already has a criminal record reported by the Daily Courier Daily Courier reports:
Continue reading Plea Offered to Defendant Adam Bartley in Matthew Fenner Case- rccatalyst.com

Subpoenas, the Motion to Disqualify and NC Deed(s) of Trust (updated)

The Summer of Decision rolls on….

Friday, July 31, 2015; Rccataylst.com in article (rccatalyst.com) broke the news concerning the subpoena served on Ray Farmer as Vice President and Treasurer of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The subpoena requires for delivery of certain DVDs, audio or videos made January 26-28, 2013 on the premises of WOFF to the Rutherford County Superior Court on or before August 3, 3015 at 9:30AM. The document also requires all videotapes, audio, DVDs or video made July 1 through July 31, 2015 to be turned over. A third part of the subpoena includes any audio, CD’s DVD’s, videos papers, photos any other media depicting Richard Matthew Fenner, III. Read the document for a more complete description.

This is a very inclusive request. As far as I know, this is the first time WOFF has been issued such a request. Will there be lights on all night this whole weekend at the WOFF grounds? Will there be a last minute hardship request for an extension of time? What creative excuses will be given if such a request is made? The subpoena outlines a requirement for Ray Farmer to appear and testify on Monday. What will he be testifying to? Will he be required to swear under oath that the materials presented are all inclusive and nothing has been overlooked, modified or tampered with? Will he be required to attest to the validity, integrity and completeness of the submitted recordings? What if there are gaps in time sequence? How will this affect the acceptance of the materials? Will the papers be redacted? If so, what reason will there be for such redaction? Will tapes be scrambled? Questions, questions.

The delivery date for the required materials coincides with the hearing on Monday, August 3, 2015 for the State’s Motion to Disqualify Counsel. The State is moving to disqualify the entire firm of Tomblin, Farmer and Morris, P.L.L.C. from representing the five named defendants in the Fenner case. The motion cites “the aforesaid counsel have a non-waivable, concurrent, conflict of interest. See the Motion below. (use the BACK ARROW to return to this blog)
motion to disqualify TFM

Continue reading Subpoenas, the Motion to Disqualify and NC Deed(s) of Trust (updated)

WOFF Defendants First Appearance- 4+1

Thursday morning, defendants named in the Matthew Fenner case gathered at the Rutherford County Courthouse in Superior courtroom number two. Gathered with them were family, friends and leadership from Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). I attended to support Matthew and be a witness to the proceedings. The first part of the morning session was filled with probation violation hearings. A wide assortment of folks made their way to the attorney’s table for defendants. Some were wearing striped clothing.

Present were the four defendants who still live inside WOFF. Brooke Covington, Sarah Anderson, Justin Covington, and Robert Lewis Walker, Jr. Family and friends of this group were gathered close to the front. Karel Reynolds, dressed in black and Jayne Caulder were sitting further back as guards and witnesses – I suppose. Josh Farmer, David Blake Caulder, Mark Morris and Caleb Farmer were all in and out of the lawyer’s area up front. Caleb was in zone defense and actually perched near me briefly. He did not speak, but he did nod. During the morning, glances and stares were exchanged between the WOFF sections and the right side of the courtroom. As with most every other courtroom, the acoustics were terrible. I sat on the second row and still had to strain to hear. The temperature climbed until the always moving bailiff adjusted the temperature controls. I sat in the unofficial press corner with a survivor advocate, a reporter from the AP, a reporter from the Daily Courier and one from rccatalyst.com. Family members and other supporters of Matthew took seats near the back of the room.

Just when it seemed like this session could stretch in to the afternoon, the judge called for a fifteen minute break. Judge Davis left the room for a while; I stayed to chat with those around me. During this break, the four WOFF defendants were lead to the front by Mr. Farmer where each one in turn raised their right hand and appeared to take an oath! Yes, I was a witness to the swearing. Though, I do not know exactly they were swearing to, but I have an idea it was to telling the truth. (maybe) Each of the four signed a document and returned to their seat on the left side of the courtroom. Once the session was called back into order, the last few probation cases were heard. Then the players moved into position, it was show time.

“Sarah Anderson?”

Sarah rises from her chair and glides through half door separating the players from the sitters, easing to her spot beside Mark Morris. The dialogue was difficult to hear, but catching bits and pieces I heard the Judge ask Sarah if she was understood the charges against her. He advised her of her right to a public defender if she could not afford an attorney. Yes, just a formality with faithful Mark beside her. She was instructed to step forward and sign a waiver for the right to a public defender and told her next court date would be August 19th. After these remarks and having signed the waiver for public counsel, she resumed her glide back through the half door and out of the courtroom or at least away from the action at the front. Her husband followed on a short string right behind her.
Continue reading WOFF Defendants First Appearance- 4+1

Change of Venue Request Reported by rccatalyst.com

The website, rccatalyst.com, posted an article on Friday highlighting excerpts from the motion for a change of venue made by Josh Farmer- attorney for the five defendants in the Matthew Fenner case. (source link here) The motion comes as no surprise. After being indicted twice in separate hearings, it would be a procedural oversight for Farmer not to at least attempt this move. District Attorney Ted Bell cited the “extreme volume” of the motion as a reason to decline comment until he could review it.

As a review, the five defendants are Brooke McFadden Covington, Sarah Covington Anderson, Adam Christopher Bartley, Justin Brock Covington and Robert Louis Walker, Jr. The list of charges includes second degree kidnapping and assault by strangulation. The motion will be heard on April 1, 2015 when the defendants make their first appearance before the judge. If a change is granted, this would be to an adjoining county-if previous procedures are followed.

Quoting from the article; Josh Farmer cited the need for the change due to ““excessive, pervasive and insidious publicity on a local, statewide and even national level” against the WOFF church.” The extensive documents also included a statement for each defendant that, “the defendant is a member of the Word of Faith Fellowship, a church that for nearly two decades has been subject to extraordinary persecution, hatred, bigotry and discrimination in the county, spurred by the Inside Edition tabloid news, local, national and international news media coverage, as well as continual social media postings.”

Included in the article are some vital links to historical information about the group including a link to the Inside Edition video. Good job by the staff reporter who put this together. It was concise, but inclusive of needed information for one who may be new to the ongoing WOFF drama.
Continue reading Change of Venue Request Reported by rccatalyst.com

WOFF-think explains WOFF-speak…really.

This last week news sources far and wide have picked up the story surrounding the indictments of five Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) church members in the Matthew Fenner case. Some sources have recounted the basics, some have embellished. The five indicted members include- Brooke Covington, Sarah Covington Anderson, Justin Covington, Robert Lewis Walker, Jr. and Adam Bartley. The charges include simple assault and second degree kidnapping. Sarah Anderson has an additional charge of assault by strangulation. These are by far the most serious charges for any WOFF member(s) that I am aware of.

Most every source has contained quotes from Josh Farmer. I will rely on the quotes provided in the sources and attempt to explain the reasons behind them. My purpose is to shed some light on this confusing situation.

“They are innocent of the charges leveled against them and we look forward to proving their innocence and to their complete vindication before a trial court,” said Farmer. “We are adamant that no one ever physically harmed Mr. Fenner… The church does NOT target members who are gay.” Source link here.

This reply by Josh may seem confusing at first. However, let’s apply some WOFF-think to understand WOFF-speak. We cannot excuse these statements just because Josh is an attorney. That misses the meaning and also the opportunity to learn about the WOFF culture. Let me explain.
Continue reading WOFF-think explains WOFF-speak…really.

So, have you strangled someone… lately? Did it help? (video)

WSPA.com

The names, ages and charges were released today in the Fenner case. Here is the list:
“Indicted were Sarah Covington Anderson, 27, Adam Christopher Bartley, 25, Brooke McFadden Covington, 56, Justin Brock Covington, 20, all of Breeze Hill in Rutherfordton and Robert Louis Walker, Jr., 26, of New Flynn Drive in Spindale.

Five true bills of indictments were handed down for second degree kidnapping and simple assault. Anderson was also charged with assault inflicting personal injury by strangulation.”
(source link- http://www.thedigitalcourier.com/news/x1736887346/Five-Word-of-Faith-members-indicted-for-assault )

In a separate source, the church attorney is quoted,

“They are innocent of the charges leveled against them and we look forward to proving their innocence and to their complete vindication before a trial court. Please remember that the law declares them innocent until they are proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.” (source link- http://www.wlos.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/victim-alleged-word-faith-abuse-grateful-indictments-18829.shtml#.VIen28nb3Eb )
Continue reading So, have you strangled someone… lately? Did it help? (video)