Church Sells Belongings to Raise Money for Jailed Pastor Accused of Firebombing Ex-Girlfriend
A church in California is selling some of its property in an attempt to pay for the bail of its pastor, who was recently arrested after authorities determined his church to be fraudulently registered.
Members of Fellowship Baptist Church in Vacaville, Calif., held two estate sales over the weekend, the proceeds of which will go to releasing Pastor Mark Lewis, who is held on a $575,000 bond, from jail. One church official told FOX40 that a "few thousand dollars" was raised by selling large furniture from the church's parsonage, as well as selling the church van.
Lewis was first arrested in January for allegedly conspiring with three other adults to throw a Molotov cocktail into the home of former girlfriend Sarah Nottingham. Although the other suspects remained in jail, Lewis was released on a hefty $500,000 bond two days later.
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The Vacaville Police Department then released a statement saying it began investigating church records after Lewis provided the large bail sum so easily. Investigators then obtained a search warrant to look into the source of Lewis' bail, suggesting that perhaps the pastor fraudulently used the legal status of another church as its own, and therefore used the church as bail collateral.
"Information came into the hands of the District Attorney's Office, because of the bail and the high amount and how the process works, that they began an independent investigation for his bail," Lt. John Carli with the Vacaville Police Department told the San Jose Mercury News.
"Through this whole process, their investigation has uncovered evidence of fraud … as it pertains to loans that may be related to the church," Carli stated. "So this search warrant is looking into his bail and any other evidence that would tie the church to his bail."
Carli went on to say that Lewis will "go to jail on additional charges of fraud and new evidence of fraud, based on the financial status of the church, and also for the bail."
One of the church's congregants, Sarah Bongard, told CBS Sacramento that the congregation is attempting to help their pastor in any way they can. "It's been a little rough, but God's working it out, we know that," she said. "Knowing that He's in control, even of getting our pastor out and restoring our church to what it should be."
Pastor Lewis has continued to deny his involvement with the Jan. 9 attack on his former girlfriend's house, telling media outlets that he did not pay the three suspects to firebomb Nottingham's house and had no connection to the attack.
"They caught the people who did that," the pastor told KTVU of the alleged crime. "They were just trying to point the finger at me. That's normal. That's normal. It'll come out and be cleared up."
Lewis now faces charges of fraud, perjury, arson and conspiracy in connection to the Jan. 9 incident and fraud claims regarding his church.
