Three ministers of the gospel were on Tuesday charged with disorderly behavior in a place of divine worship. Police arrested Zendel Stubbs, 53, Michael Symonette, 31, and Lorenzo Moss, 46, following an alleged altercation during the early morning service of Ebenezer Mission Baptist Church at Charles Vincent Street on September 23. They entered not guilty pleas to the allegation during an arraignment before Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez.
Attorney Michael Kemp, who represents Stubbs and Moss, asked the magistrate to deal with the matter quickly as the issue of the church's leadership was at stake. Symonette was installed as the church's pastor before his father, Bishop Elkin Symonette, who founded the church 45 years ago, died this year. He has been challenged for the leadership by Bishop Moss, who is his first cousin.
The magistrate said the Supreme Court would have to determine who is entitled to lead the church. Kemp said, "They are all men of the cloth and I'm certain that all and sundry, the laity as well as the officers of the church, want to have the matter heard at the earliest opportunity. "I am prepared to defend this allegation within a fortnight." However, Magistrate Gomez transferred the matter to Magistrate Guillimina Archer for hearing because he had issued previously a restraining order in relation to two of the defendants.
Kemp was concerned that the matter would not be heard expeditiously because Magistrate Archer's court was "overburdened with work". He said, "We've been awaiting transcripts in that court for over a year and there's no stable prosecutor." Magistrate Gomez said he would let Magistrate Archer determine if she was unable to deal with the case.
Romona Farquharson, who represents Symonette, asked the court to consider releasing the defendants on their own recognizance as they were ministers of religion and not flight risks. Magistrate Gomez released the defendants on $1,000 bail on their own recognizance. They will make their next court appearance before Magistrate Archer on October 8.
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