Tag Archives: Leaving a Cult

Summary of Events in Matthew Fenner Case as of Sept. 18, 2015 (court docs)

Court ROom #2
Court Room #2

This week brought more motions and notices in the Matthew Fenner case.

September 15th- Rccatalyst.com reported Attorney Beeker withdraws from Fenner Case. They also reported Ms. Beeker filed a continuance for the three defendants, Brooke Covington, Justin Covington and Sarah Anderson for more time for them to find counsel. Beeker included Robert Lewis Walker, Jr. in the list of defendants. Walker’s attorney of record, Matthew Cabe, did not sign the motion. Could this just be sloppy paperwork? It is not clear how this will be treated during Monday’s session.

On the same day, the disqualified Josh Farmer filed a Petition for Writ of Supersedeas and Motion for Temporary Stay on behalf of Brooke M. Covington, Justin B. Covington and Sarah C. Anderson in the North Carolina Court of Appeals (19 pages). Mr. Farmer along with Mark Morris also filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari (157 pages). The review of these documents is too long for this post. We will look at them in an upcoming post. There is a lot of feedback to offer about what was put in and what was left out of these documents. There is a docket entry for the filings, the fee has not been paid and it is unclear whether the Court will review and act on these filings.

September 18th, a motion from Adam Bartley’s attorney Robert Denton arrived in the mail and the clerk’s time stamped it into the records. We review this Motion to Continue All Motions below. Also, just before 5:00PM, Assistant District Attorney Garland Byers filed a response to Denton’s Motion. I do not have a copy, but will review it in a later post. For now, it is enough to look at Denton’s Motion.
Continue reading Summary of Events in Matthew Fenner Case as of Sept. 18, 2015 (court docs)

More Appeals Filed in Fenner Case (Court docs)

At the very end of the fourteen day period allowed for filing an appeal, Brooke M. Covington, Justin B. Covington and Sarah C. Anderson each filed appeals this past Thursday, during the last half hour that the court was open. Each defendant filed two notices. One notice was appealing Judge Pope’s order “entered August 27, 2015 granting the State’s motion to dismiss the notice of appeal filed by (each) defendant on August 20, 2015.” The second notice was to appeal the order of Judge Pope “entered August 27, 2015 denying defendant’s motion to reconsider order disqualifying counsel.” (Use BACK ARROW to retunr to this post)
Brooke Covington appeals
Justin Covington appeals
Sarah Covington Anderson appeals

Questions pop up all over the place from these notices. Who helped prepare them? What is the goal for these filings? What is the purpose of filing without representation? Rule 4 of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure is used to justify these appeals. A layman’s reading does suggest that the defendant’s CAN file these appeals, but should they? How will Judge Pope view them in light of his most recent Order which contain these words pertaining to the Motion to Reconsider;

“After a review of the Court file, review of the State’s and the Defendant’s Memorandum, case law, consideration of legal arguments by counsel for the State and the Defendants, it is HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED AS FOLLOWS: The Defendant’s Motion to Reconsider the Order of August 6, 2015 filed by the Defendants on August 20, 2015 be and is hereby DENIED. “
Continue reading More Appeals Filed in Fenner Case (Court docs)

Pre-Release Announcement- Locked in- by John Huddle

Locked in
Front cover- Locked in by John Huddle

It is with much excitement and anticipation that I post this announcement. The memoir which I have labored over is very close to release. Locked in includes my story of joining Grace and Truth Fellowship in Greenville, S.C. and the subsequent membership in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) The body of the book has three parts. Part 1 covers the time period until December 2002. The section includes my thoughts when I first witnessed blasting prayer, the practices of the Greenville church and friendships which grew during those years.

Part 2, Life Inside WOFF, covers deliverance prayer in depth, fund raising practices and pivotal services which I believe were landmarks along the journey. Part 3- Picks up the narrative again in late 2002 extending on through the life changing events of December 2004. This part also includes my exit in July 2008 and the events of December 2008.

From the back cover:
Locked in pulls back the thick curtain holding many of the secrets inside Word of Faith Fellowship. This small mountain church in Spindale, NC first came to the national stage in 1995 when Inside Edition aired video which included their signature practice of blasting deliverance prayer. As the first published survivor memoir of this group, follow John’s journey of hope for his family to live in “God’s ways” by moving to Spindale, only to discover the unique doctrines and practices brought the destruction of the family he loved and cherished. Locked in examines these group practices including communal living, deliverance prayer, fund-raising, as well as revealing the essential beliefs and many unwritten rules governing each member.
Continue reading Pre-Release Announcement- Locked in- by John Huddle

Adam Bartley -“…I did nothing wrong.” (Court docs)

Thursday, August 20, 2015, several motions and notices were filed in the Matthew Fenner case. Rccatalyst.com reported this while including a copy of Adam Bartley’s signature to a handwritten (printed) statement including the words at the bottom of the plea offer, “I reject any plea offer as I did nothing wrong.” (Use the BACK ARROW to return to this post)
exhibit 5 handwritten rejection

Before we get into the rest of the filed documents, let me say right here in Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) language, “I did nothing wrong,” is not the same as “I am innocent of the charges.” Why? In WOFF-think, which we must presume still affects Bartley, you can do “nothing wrong” in God’s eyes and still be guilty of breaking the law. In effect, I did nothing wrong- in the sight of God. In WOFF-think, God’s ways are higher than man’s ways and if He said to pray a certain way or “help someone get back in their place”, you better do it or “you will be in sin.” How do I know? I have heard it over and over. God’s ways are higher than man’s ways. This is how WOFF members can look you straight in the face and tell you “Truth” which is contrary to the facts. Jane speaks Truth as she “hears it from God.” It may be contrary to facts – but she cares not. “Truth” as she hears it protects her from any negative outcomes…right? We shall see. Did it work May 29th?

Included in the filed documents were the following:

Motion to Stay Proceedings- Asking the court to “stay”- stop proceedings until the appellate proceedings are decided. This could take a while. The Daily Courier reported a “tentative hearing for August 27th at 9:30AM to review this request and the Notice of Appeal.
motion to stay proceedings during appeal
Continue reading Adam Bartley -“…I did nothing wrong.” (Court docs)

DISQUALIFICATION!!!

This conclusive ruling by Judge Marvin Pope caps off a week of big developments in the Matthew Fenner case. Friday, the ruling was made public on rccatalyst.com. Judge Pope granted the State’s motion for disqualification of all attorneys affiliated with Tomblin, Farmer and Morris (TFM). The attorneys listed on the TFM website include Joshua Farmer, Andrea Farmer, Mark Morris and Caleb Farmer. This ruling bars them from representing in any manner in the defense of any of the five defendants.

From the rccatalyst.com article, “The representation of five co-defendants in this cause of action (now four co-defendants) is a concurrent conflict of interest which exists and cannot effectively be waived by a defendant absent knowledge of what a co-defendant may testify on behalf of the State against the remaining co-defendants.”

Additionally, from the ruling, “This disqualification of an attorney does not mean that the attorney has violated a specific disciplinary rule.”

In granting the motion the judge also requested the District Attorney to “calendar a court date for the Court to advise the remaining defendants of their right to counsel, either appointed or a waiver of their right co counsel.”
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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)