Friends: Pastor Mistakenly Killed In Drug Sting

STEPHENS COUNTY, Ga. -- A pastor was shot and killed following a drug sting in Stephens County, Ga., on Tuesday, and the officers involved and friends of the pastor are giving different versions of what led up to the shooting.

The Stephens County coroner confirmed that 28-year-old Jonathan Ayers was pronounced dead at Stephens County Hospital on Tuesday.

Ayers, a father-to-be, was the pastor of the Shoal Creek Baptist Church. He maintained a personal blog linked off the church's Web page, jonathanayers.blogspot.com.

Sheriff Randy Shirley said that officers had been involved in an undercover drug sting at an unnamed establishment in Toccoa. He said the target of the sting was a passenger in Ayers' car. Shirley said Ayers dropped the woman off and went to the Shell station. He said the officers followed Ayers there.

Shirley said, outside the Shell station, the plain-clothes officers identified themselves with a badge. The officers said that Ayers put his car in reverse and struck an agent. They said they opened fire on Ayers when he drove toward the second officer. Two shots were fired in the car, one hit Ayers. The officers said Ayers sped away and crashed about a half mile from the Shell station. They said they found him conscious and alert, but he died a short time later.

The woman who was the subject of the drug sting was arrested, but police are not identifying her yet. She is charged with selling cocaine. Other charges against her are pending.

Investigators said they did not find drugs in Ayers' car.

"They deserve punishment," said Ayers' sister, Rebecca Floyd. "They deserve to feel somewhat of the pain we're feeling, because I can't get my brother back he's gone forever."

Floyd said there's no way her younger brother would have run if he would have known the men who had guns were officers. The officers were undercover and weren't in uniform, but investigators said they had badges around their necks and clearly identified themselves.

"I think anyone in that situation would run," Floyd said. "I know I would. If someone pulled up to me with guns, I would run."

She said her brother was known to help strangers.

"I could bet my life on it he did not know her," she said. "I could bet my life on it, because that's the kind of person he was. He was a good Christian man, and that was his goal was to lead souls to Christ."

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to look at the case. It's still interviewing witnesses and will match those stories to what the officers say happened.

Floyd said her brother's first baby is due in February.

"I'm just heartbroken this baby will never see his daddy or her daddy," she said. "He'll never get that opportunity."

Floyd said she's praying for answers and the strength for forgiveness.

"That's the type of person my brother was," she said. "He would forgive the person who shot him."

Friends who have been discussing Ayers' death in online forums and in e-mails said, unlike the police description of the shooting, they believe Ayers may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

One of many e-mails received by WYFF News 4 said:


"Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, Jonathon Ayers was shot and killed by a Toccoa police officer. Ayers was at a walk-up ATM machine to get money to have tires put on his wife's car. After getting his money, he saw men running at him. Thinking he was to be robbed, he ran for his car. He was shot through the door and the bullet went through his lung and liver. He eventually wrecked his car and was taken to Stephens County Hospital. The bleeding of his liver could not be stopped and Ayers died in surgery.

"Later, it was found that the police officer who shot him thought Ayers was involved in a drug deal. When Ayers ran, the officers open fired. GBI and NCIS are involved in this investigation.

"Ayers was pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church of Lavonia. He leaves behind a wife and expecting child.

"Ayers was simply at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

The GBI agent in charge of the investigation, Mike Ayers, said, "The shooting happened at the intersection of Broad Street and Currahee Street at a Shell station."

He said, "Yesterday at approximately 3 p.m., we were contacted by the Stephens County Sheriff's Department. There was an officer-involved shooting in Stephens County in the city of Toccoa … Yesterday, the sheriff's department and district attorney's office requested that the GBI conduct an investigation into that shooting, which did lead to a fatality."

Mike Ayers said, "At this time, I really can't release any specific information concerning the investigation."

"This is one of those tasks the GBI typically gets involved in anytime an officer is involved in a shooting," Mike Ayers said.

News 4's Kisha Foster spoke to a woman outside Shoal Creek Baptist who identified herself as Jonathan Ayers' sister-in-law. She described him as a "godly man." She said there are "a lot of lies going around about what happened, and the police department is trying to cover up what they did."

The two agents are on administrative leave with pay until the investigation is complete.

Prosecutor Warns Okla. Clergy After Pastor Killing

ANADARKO, Okla. — Authorities warned pastors in a town where a preacher was brutally killed inside her own church that they should take precautions at their buildings, even as police refused to say exactly what happened.

District Attorney Bret Burns, who described the killing as "horrific," held a closed-door session with about two dozen pastors, along with members of law enforcement. Several pastors who were there said authorities did not discuss any facts of the case.

"We talked about security issues within their churches and their congregations," Burns said. "We asked them to remain vigilant and be aware of their surroundings and their church locations."

He did not say why the meeting was held just with pastors rather than the community at large, or what kind of a threat the clergy might face.

The body of 61-year-old Carol Daniels was found Sunday in the Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko. A preliminary autopsy found she died of "multiple sharp force injuries," but law enforcement declined to elaborate and have been tight-lipped about details of the crime or a possible motive.

Burns did not rule out the possibility that the killer specifically targeted a pastor or a church.

"There are a lot of things we're not prepared to rule out," he said. "I'm concerned about the nature of this crime. I'm concerned about the community."

No arrests have been made, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Tracy Schumpert, pastor of the town's First United Methodist Church where the meeting was held, met afterward with a worker from an alarm company.

"I think we'll take precautions," she said. "But I don't feel overly fearful.

"You want your church to be accessible, but you also are aware of what the world is like and you're aware of the people you minister to and take precautions."

Ben Sullivan, executive director of the Christian Center of Anadarko, which runs a soup kitchen and food pantry, said he's not fearful of another attack but plans to tighten security at his facility a few blocks away from where the killing happened. He said the center will probably close before dark and volunteers will work in pairs.

"We're always keeping our eyes open because of the work we do. We deal with people that aren't in the best of situations," he said.

Daniels, who lived in Oklahoma City, made the 60-mile drive to Anadarko every week, even though the small, weather-beaten church had no regular congregation.

On Wednesday, a makeshift memorial of stuffed animals, flowers and a candle stood at the front door of the church, where a sign with Daniels' name read: "God Loves You!"

Randalyn Holder, whose mother lives nearby, rode by the church on her bicycle and stopped to prop a small, wooden cross against the door.

"I never knew her or met her, but I think about the faith she had to come down here every week," she said.

Holder, who works at a local grocery store, said the killing has rattled residents of the town.

"You never hear about anything like that happening here," she said. "I'm not going to hide out or anything, but I'm going to make sure my door is locked at night."

Pastor Raped a Young Girl, Tried to Rape a Woman...

COUNCIL Bluffs, Iowa. -- A pastor in Council Bluffs has been accused of sexually assaulting at least two women and one girl during the past six years.

An affidavit out of Pottawattamie County details allegations against Efrain Umana.

Umana was arrested in Lincoln and paid bond Thursday to be released from Pottawattamie County Jail, said Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilbur

According to the affidavit, Umana took a young girl to his church in 2003. He told the girl he was looking for keys. Once at the church, Umana took the girl to the church's sound room, locked the door and took his pants off, according to the affidavit. He then told the girl, age 10 or 11 at the time, to do the same. The girl refused and Umana took off her pants and had sex with her, according to the affidavit.

In 2007, Umana had sex with a woman at her home while the woman's husband was at work, according to the affidavit.

In 2008, Umana called a woman into the church's pantry to help him with food items, according to the affidavit. Once inside, Umana did not turn on the lights and forced himself on the woman, who then pushed the minister off her and turned on the lights, according to the affidavit.

Other allegations against Umana include forced touching and kissing while inside the church.

Umana has been booked on several charges.

A church member told KETV the pastor left the church abruptly and went to Lincoln where Umana joined another church.