Two of the three men connected to the recent robbery of a Brooklyn preacher during a livestream of his Sunday service have been arrested and charged with armed robbery. The preacher has released a statement saying he wants the “justice system” to work and hopes that people see that he, his family, and the church “are victims and not the villains.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 28, the DOJ released a statement saying, after an indictment was unsealed, Juwan Anderson and Say-Quan Pollack were charged for their role in the armed robber of Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead at the Brooklyn branch of the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry on Remsen Ave. near Avenue D at about 11:15 a.m. on July 24.
The men, both 23 years old, were arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr.
Three agencies worked together to advance this case, the U.S. District Attorney’s office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (NY Division), and the NYPD.
U.S. Attorney Breon Pace said, “As alleged, the defendants brought guns into a place of worship, stealing from two members of the clergy, and terrifying the congregation in the process.”
“I commend the Special Agents and Detectives for their outstanding efforts in identifying the perpetrators who committed a crime that shocks the conscience for its brazenness,” Pace added.” This Office will always work with our law enforcement partners to protect our houses of worship, prosecute those who engage in gun violence and ensure the safety of all members of our community.”
Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell, said, “The indictment unsealed today affirms the NYPD’s unwavering commitment to working collaboratively, across several law enforcement agencies, to focus on those few individuals charged with wreaking violence in our city.”
Continuing, “I commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and all of our NYPD officers and detectives who have investigated this important case and removed these defendants from our streets.”
“Armed robbery is an intolerable crime, but to commit such an act during a religious service is incomprehensible,” ATF Special Agent-in-Charge DeVito stated.
“The men and women of ATF stand side by side with all of our partners to identify, investigate and apprehend those that commit such brazen acts of violence within our communities. These arrests are due to the excellent investigative work by ATF/NYPD’s Strategic Pattern Armed Robbery Technical Apprehension (SPARTA) Group. I would like to thank the United States Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting this case.”
After the robbery went viral, with the “flashy” pastor lying down flat on his belly as he was robbed for allegedly $1 million worth of jewelry, Whitehead immediately started to receive backlash.
Much of the controversy over him was not only about his designer clothes and luxury cars, but also about his criminal past and current lawsuit where a 56-year-old immigrant woman says he took her life savings and reneged on a promise to help her secure a house.
Pauline Anderson alleged that in November 2020, her bi-vocational pastor (who doubles as a real estate agent), told her she would help her fix her credit so that she could her dream home. She gave him a high five-figure cashier’s check and he allegedly agreed to pay her $100 a month to help her budget.
However, he only gave her the $100 allowance once in January of 2021. Thus, she filed a lawsuit in 2021 with the Brooklyn Supreme Court, stating, “Whitehead fraudulently induced Ms. Anderson to liquidate her entire life savings to pay him the ‘investment’ of $90,000.00, promising to use the funds to purchase and renovate a house for her.”
“Ms. Anderson was instead left with nothing but a vague promise by Mr. Whitehead to pay the funds back in the future followed by an assertion that he had no further obligation to do so,” the filing alleged.
In the lawsuit, she also has screenshots of the bishop telling her if she did not have a receipt, her money was considered a donation.
The bishop wrote in a text exchange on May 19th, 2021 to Anderson, “And for the record, anything that was given to me is a Donation unless it’s attached to a contract! I was making investments, that’s what I Do!”
A more recent dust-up placed the bishop in headlines when he called a woman up from the back of his church during his Sept. 18th Sunday service and then grabbed her by the back of her neck, accusing her of attacking his wife.
This altercation was also captured on the livestream.
He and the woman were both taken in by NYPD, however, only the woman, whose name is Tarsha Howard, was arrested for trespassing and disrupting a religious service. Howard says she did not go to the church to disrupt the service but to do research for an upcoming book on “charismatic leaders in the Black community.”
She and her lawyers believe the bishop should face charges for assaulting her.
“I am a born-again Christian. So, I started praying. And then out of nowhere, he lunged at me and that’s what you see on video. He lunged after me and dragged me out of the church and there was no communication as to why that happened,” she said to the Daily News.
Whitehead said, “higher-ups” made sure he could be released from detention without being arrested, within two hours. He is also friends with the current mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.
Judge Simiyon Haniff, the judge over the case, said after Howard’s arraignment, “Just for the record, this is probably the first time in my 20-plus years practicing that I’ve ever even seen this charge. Not the trespass charge … the disruption or disturbance of a religious service, funeral, burial, or memorial service.”
According to a press release submitted by Whitehead’s publicist, the pastor “was notified by team members of the NYPD and the ATF robbery task force that two suspects have been taken into custody.”
Whitehead commended law enforcement for their work in bringing justice to the case.
“Today is the start of healing. We will let the justice system continue to work as I continue to do what God has called me to do,” he said in the statement. “I would like to thank my supporters and hope those that did not believe in my innocence will understand that I along with my family and church are the victims and not the villains.”
A third defendant remains at large, and the DOJ was clear that the “charges in the indictment are allegations.”
“The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” the DOJ stated. “If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.”
