MISTRIAL DECLARED IN GAY BEATING CASE

A judge held a juror in contempt and declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a North Carolina church minister charged in the beating of a congregant who says he was attacked to expel his “homosexual demons.”

Superior Court Judge Gary Gavenus sentenced the juror, Perry Shade Jr., to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Gavenus said Shade brought in three documents Tuesday and handed them out to his fellow jurors, who were in their second day of deliberations. One of the documents was North Carolina case law.

Gavenus said he wasn’t sure when a new trial would be scheduled for Brooke Covington, 58, pictured, a minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, N.C. Covington is accused of kidnapping and assaulting former member Matthew Fenner to expel his “homosexual demons.”