Criminal case still pending against black pastor arrested after calling 911 on white trespassers, lawyer says
A black Virginia pastor who was arrested and charged with brandishing his licensed firearm to scare off five white trespassers who threatened to kill him because he tried to stop them from dumping trash on his land still has a criminal charge pending against him, his lawyer said.
Chris Kowalczuk, the lawyer for Pastor Leon McCray Sr., who leads Lighthouse Church and Marketplace Ministries International, told The Northern Virginia Daily that a criminal case against his client is still pending even though Shenandoah County Sheriff Timothy Carter apologized for the inappropriate charge and promised it would be dismissed on June 12.
“The case is still live, it’s still a pending criminal case,” Kowalczuk said. “The charge is still a pending criminal charge.”
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McCray explained in a broadcast on Facebook Live that on June 1, he saw two people trying to dump a refrigerator on his property in Edinburg, when he told them to stop. One person, he said, verbally attacked him and the other one went to get three other people.
“I informed these individuals that they were trespassing and that they couldn’t dump their refrigerator on my property and I asked them to leave. They became irate and verbally attacked me,” he said.
Soon five people, three men and two women, surrounded the preacher and allegedly threatened him.
In his statement to police, he claimed, "One male ran up to me at full speed into my face up against my chest with his nose bumping my nose while threatening to kill me. The other male ran full speed up to me while taking off his shirt and stood up against me from behind. The other 3 individuals surrounded in a group mob position to attack me/kill me following through with their verbal attacks of threats to take my life."
He noted in his Facebook video that they "were threatening my life, telling me that my black life and black lives matter stuff” did not sit well in the town, he explained.
“Being threatened and being in fear for my life I took and felt compelled to pull my concealed weapon, legal concealed weapon to save my life. And when I did that finally these individuals backed up long enough for me to call 911,” he said.
When officers arrived on the scene, it was McCray who was arrested and charged with brandishing his weapon.
In a statement posted on Facebook last Friday, Carter said he spoke with the pastor on June 3, two days after the arrest and realized the police had make a mistake.
“Mr. McCray met with me on Wednesday the 3rd of June, and after talking with him about the incident, it was apparent to me that the charge of brandishing was certainly not appropriate. Actually, as I told Mr. McCray, if I were faced with similar circumstances, I would have probably done the same thing,” Carter said.
“I initiated an immediate review of Mr. McCray’s charge … I met twice with the Shenandoah Commonwealth’s Attorney, and she has reviewed the case, and agreed with the assessment of the brandishing charge, in that she would drop this charge.”
Kowalczuk told The Northern Virginia Daily that he contacted the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, requesting the charge be dismissed with prejudice so that it could not be revived later. But he was informed in writing that day that the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office intended to file a dismissal of “nolle prosequi.” This means there would be a discontinuation of the prosecution but it leaves the door open to reopen the case against McCray at a later date.
Kowalczuk is asking the court to completely dismiss the charge against McCray.
The five trespassers involved in the attack on McCray have since been arrested on charges of assault by a mob and hate crime assault. Four of the five were also charged with felony abduction.
Amanda Dawn Salyers, 26, was charged with one count of hate crime-simple assault and one count of simple assault by mob. Four others — Farrah Lee Salyers, 42; Donny Richard Salyers, 43; Dennis James Salyers, 26; and Christopher Kevin Sharp, 57 — were each charged on one count of hate crime-simple assault, one count of simple assault by mob and one count of abduction.
All five are being held without bond on hate crime charges. The initial court date is scheduled for July 17.
“I have apologized to Mr. McCray, and I appreciate his patience as I have worked through these matters," Carter said. "I do listen to citizen complaints and I take them seriously. I want the people of Shenandoah County to know I and the Sheriff’s Office staff appreciate and care about the minority communities, and especially our Black community, in Shenandoah County. Also, I continue to support and recognize the importance of your Constitutional rights, especially your 2nd Amendment right to protect yourself and your family.”
