A Middletown pastor who faced up to 10 years in prison for using personal and church bank accounts to launder drug money won't go to jail.
Friday, Judge James Heath of Warren County Common Pleas Court sentenced Bishop Keith Brooks, founder of Power of Deliverance Temple/Judah Sanctuary of Praise on Crawford Street in Middletown, to three years probation and 30 days community service.
Brooks, 52, pleaded guilty in January to felony charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and money laundering. Brooks rented a home on West Pekin Road in Clearcreek Twp. to James Scott Jr. — a church member and convicted cocaine dealer — who paid rent with drug money.
The Warren County Drug Task Force last fall seized 11 pounds of crack cocaine and $46,000 from that house. Task force Commander John Burke said he was surprised by the leniency of the sentence.
Brooks' attorney, Ken Lawson of Cincinnati, has said his client pleaded guilty only because prosecutors threatened to file charges against his wife and the church.
Scott was free in lieu of a $50,000 bond when he ran off while a jury deliberated his fate on nine counts of trafficking and possession involving powder and crack cocaine.
"We are still actively looking for him and so are other jurisdictions," Burke said.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/02/16/ddn021707pastor.html
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