Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Pastor Accused of Arson Issues Denial

Is this a reliable denial?

The story is found here

Here is how the Fox affiliate reported it:

Pastor Mark Lewis made bail he was back at the Fellowship Baptist Church, preaching. The 39-year-old is accused of asking three people to throw a Molotov cocktail into the bedroom window of his ex-girlfriend Sarah Nottingham’s parents’ house


In an exclusive interview Sunday, Lewis denied the allegations against him.
I didn’t do it I didn’t have someone else do it. What do you want me to say? That’s the truth,” Lewis said.

This sounds very much like a reliable denial, but is it? 

 Is it accurately reported by the editor?

Please go to the link provided and make your comment. 


Did your opinion change after listening to the audio?  If so, why?

"We're going to go inside now..,"

Q.  "Did you do it?
A.  I didn't do it.

Q.  "Did you have someone else do it for you?"
A.    "No, I did not have someone else do it."

This is called "reflective language", where the subject reflects back to the Interviewer, the Interviewer's own language.  It is not a reliable denial.  In fact, when first approached, the subject avoiding making a denial until the interviewer gave it to him.  

This does not mean he is guilty, but his denial is not to be deemed reliable.  


29 comments:

Suzanne said...

What was the "it" he didn't do? What was the "it" he didn't have someone do for him? If he doesn't say, "I didn't throw a Molotov cocktail...", etc, we can't say it for him.

John Mc Gowan said...

Former Drug Dealer Claims to have Sold Meth to Vacaville Pastor

http://fox40.com/2014/01/14/former-meth-dealer-claims-to-have-sold-meth-to-vacaville-pastor/#ixzz2qVI7qL8t

Anonymous said...

John,

We are in such an evil time with so many of these pastors, preachers and televangelists (did you know, many of these televangelists and radio preachers don't have a church at all!); preaching ever so pleadingly and humbly to the masses while raking in the big money donations and the rest of their time is totally free to do with as they please, very much separate from their so-called flock. It is VERY disturbing.

I wonder if anyone at all knows what they are doing anymore when they follow any of them or believe a sweet word they say.

I tell ya, I am not surprised when one of them commits another sick or evil crime of whatever nature, seeing as how they don't even believe the teachings they themselves are teaching. In fact, it's gotten to the point with me where I look for the deceit or crime first and then try to decipher if there is any honesty or truth in them.

John Mc Gowan said...

Vacaville Pastor’s Ex-Girlfriend Says He Tried To Hurt Her, Family Since Break Up

Snipped:

VACAVILLE (CBS13) – From pulpit to accused culprit, police say a Vacaville pastor hired three homeless people to firebomb a family, while he claims he’s done nothing wrong.

In the last 24 hours, Pastor Mark Lewis, 39, went from handcuffs to a house of worship. But, he says he isn’t even clear about the charges he’s facing.

“I haven’t heard about any of the accusations. I haven’t heard any of them,” said Lewis.
However, he did hear about the firebombing accusation.
“Well, yeah, that’s what the gentlemen did the other day — the two guys and a girl,” said Lewis.

On Sunday, Lewis was back at his church to deliver a sermon. He also spoke with CBS13, saying he did’t know anything.

“I haven’t heard anything; I haven’t heard any of it,” said Lewis.

Dozens of parishioners showed up to hear him speak at Fellowship Baptist Church.

“It’s easy to put it on me, to pin it on me if someone is putting the finger there. And of course, I think the police have an agenda also,” said Lewis.

Lewis is accused of paying three homeless people to firebomb his ex-girlfriend’s home while her family was asleep inside.

“That’s a sad statement because I never did pay them. I never gave them any money to do anything bad,” said Lewis.

"A lot of people are going to accuse, throw accusations out there. But until the facts come out, why don’t we just wait and see how that goes and let the court decide,” said Lewis.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/01/12/ex-girlfriend-claims-vacaville-pastor-trying-to-hurt-her-family-since-break-up/

Anonymous said...

"What do you WANT ME TO SAY?"he is trying to "appease"the quizzer??? Just my opinion :0)

Anonymous said...

OT: Madeleine McCann: Lawyer says 'Kate and Gerry McCann guilty of neglect for leaving her - and they weren't charged'

Gareth Morgan made the shocking claim while acting for a drink-driving mum who left her five-year-old son, who has Asperger syndrome, home alone at night.

The article goes on to quote statements by friends of the McCann's:


Last night a close pal of the couple, of Rothley, Leics, said: “The comments are insensitive and plain wrong. Kate and Gerry will be furious. The circumstances are totally different and not comparable.

“If Kate and Gerry were guilty of child neglect, and they were absolutely not, they would have been dealt with. As it is, there are two police inquiries in two different countries trying to find out what happened to Madeleine, and comments made by a lawyer in an unrelated case is offensive, outrageous and inaccurate.

"It is his opinion, but it is a disgrace that a defence lawyer is commenting on Kate and Gerry in this way. They will not be happy about that.”


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-lawyer-gareth-morgan-3020133




Anonymous said...

He is accused of arson of an inhabited dwelling, conspiracy and stalking.

“He told me he wasn’t ready for it to be over, basically threatened me that he had nothing to lose and that he would stop at nothing,” said Sarah Nottingham, who said she dated Lewis for a year.

Vacaville police said Lewis conspired with three others who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail into a home on Chateau Circle around 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

Lewis denies any involvement.

“No, I would not want to kill her. That’s a pretty intense statement. And the cocktail statement? I don’t know. I don’t know anything. That’s going to come out,” he told KCRA 3.

Police believe the firebombing followed other incidents of harassment and vandalism.

“I started to see that he would kind of use bribery or use people’s weaknesses against them -- the kind of power of being a pastor in people’s personal business,” Nottingham said.

She believes he was involved in vandalizing her car and her sister-in-law’s car. She also thinks he had a role in setting bushes on fire at her parents’ home. 

“The restraining order was served on Sunday, so there’s no time for stalking. But that’s all right. It’s going to be coming out that there was not that,” Lewis said, adding that the three people involved in the firebombing were shifting the blame onto him.

Lewis said he wasn’t bitter about the end of his relationship with Nottingham.

“I don’t know where all the aggression came that I’m hearing about, but it’s OK. I’m still good friends with her,” he said.

Nottingham, meanwhile, said she believes Lewis wants to kill her and believes speaking out is one way to stop him.

“I think he’s just a coward who hides behind a suit and tie and a bible. There’s no way any sort of man of God could act the way he does,” she said.

Anonymous said...

I forgot to add the link I snipped the above from.

http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/crime/2014/01/13/pastor-mark-lewis-accused-arson/4453209/

ima.grandma said...

Accusations against a Vacaville pastor, who investigators believe is connected to an alleged firebombing, continued to pile on Monday.

“Like a lot of people, she was trusting. She wanted to help. She loved children,” Patricia Hunter, Joanna Lewis’ mother, said.

Lewis’ 2011 death on the grounds of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Vacaville was widely considered a suicide.


Pastor Mark Lewis (File Photo)

Now, less than three years later, her husband Mark Lewis, who remains pastor of the church, has been accused of paying a trio of people- two of them reportedly homeless and living at the church- to help him with a plot against a former girlfriend.

“All I know is that me and Anthony were supposed to receive money after it was done, after Anthony got someone to do the job,” Kristen Broyles said, in an interview from the Solano County Jail.

Along with Anthony Newbolt and Richerd Wright, Broyles was arrested by Vacaville Police the morning of the firebombing incident.

The job she’s referring to, police say, was $300 to firebomb the victims’ home- chucking a Snapple bottle full of gasoline through the front window of the home- while the woman’s parents and three children slept inside.

They are shocking allegations, unless you are the parents of Joanna Lewis.

They say they never believed the story of their daughter’s life, and death, was fully told.

“Not until there’s justice, it won’t be over. Not until we know no one else will be hurt, no one else will suffer,” Hunter said.

Hunter is calling on police to reopen the investigation into her daughter’s death. And she’s calling on the congregation of Fellowship Baptist to help.

“Many, many people loved her. But we need you to step up. Go to the police and work with them,” Hunter said.

Broyles, Newbolt and Wright pleaded not guilty Monday in a Solano County courtroom. All three, during jailhouse interviews with FOX40, maintained that Lewis orchestrated the attack.

http://fox40.com/2014/01/13/accusations-continue-to-pile-up-against-vacaville-pastor/

Tania Cadogan said...

off topic



Dozens of police officers knocked on doors in a Tucson neighborhood Wednesday in hopes of finding new information in an investigation of a 6-year-old girl who was abducted more than 18 months ago.

The door-to-door effort by about 50 officers in Isabel Mercedes Celis' neighborhood wasn't prompted by new leads. Instead, it was intended to seek out information that might not have been revealed when investigators first flooded the area after the child's April 2012 disappearance, police spokesman Sgt. Pete Dugan said.

"It's a reconnect to see if there is anything new out there," Dugan said.

Authorities have been searching for the girl since her father reported her missing. Family members have said they last saw her in her bedroom the night before. A window was later found open with the screen pushed aside.

A neighbor said she heard her dogs barking and male voices outside her bedroom window around 6:30 a.m. on the day the girl was reported missing. The neighbor said there were no sounds that indicated a struggle.

The girl's mother, Rebecca Celis, said she was pleased that police were still investigating her daughter's disappearance. "We are happy they are trying to get new eyes on the case," the mother said.

Police have declined to say whether they have a suspect in the case or whether the child is believed to still be alive. No arrests have been made.

They believe the girl was abducted but haven't concluded whether it was done by a stranger or someone known to the family. Still, police say whoever is responsible for the abduction had knowledge of the home's layout.

About a month after the child's disappearance, police revealed that her father, Sergio Celis, had been barred from have contact with the girl's two older brothers, but they did not say why.

Police spokesman Sgt. Chris Widmer said he didn't know whether Celis' father is still forbidden from having contact with his sons. The state's child welfare agency declined to comment on the case.

Sergio Celis didn't immediately return calls seeking comment late Wednesday afternoon.

In the weeks after the disappearance, authorities had searched for the child in a 3-square-mile area around her home, including ponds, dry streambeds and empty houses. They also searched her house, but records of that search have been sealed by a judge.

The latest police canvass of Celis' neighborhood began at midday Wednesday and will probably continue through Saturday.

"This has been an investigation that has never stopped," Dugan said.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/01/15/police-flood-arizona-neighborhood-to-seek-new-information-on-2012-abduction-6/

Tania Cadogan said...

“That’s a sad statement because I never did pay them. I never gave them any money to do anything bad,” said Lewis.

This is an interesting turn of phrase.

First he said he never DID pay them implying he was going to/should have paid them but he he didn't.

Second. he tells us never gave them money to do anything bad, therefore he gave them money to do something else he didn't consider bad.

Given this was allegedly arson to get back at his ex would he consider this good (for him) rather than bad.

What he doesn't say is he didn't pay people to commit arson, if he can't say it i can't say it for him.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Anonymous said...
"What do you WANT ME TO SAY?"he is trying to "appease"the quizzer??? Just my opinion :0)
January 15, 2014 at 7:16 PM

I think this is precisely what he wanted to know: how to appease the Interviewer. Great point. Choose a name.

Peter

ME said...

Hi I'm "Me"(from Liverpool UK).

Tania Cadogan said...

Anonymous said...
"What do you WANT ME TO SAY?"he is trying to "appease"the quizzer??? Just my opinion :0)
January 15, 2014 at 7:16 PM


This reminded me of the Simpsons when Skinner introduces a former female staff member and promptly open mouth inserts foot about the differences between male and females before crying out in despair " what do you want me to say"

When i hear such phrases, my reply is simple and straightforward.

THE TRUTH

Great comment Anon and welcome aboard

John Mc Gowan said...

Hi "Me" Snap :)

Tania Cadogan said...

Hi ME (You)

ME said...

Hi you 2 from me to you 3

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update.

Police Continue Search For Isabel Celis, 6-Year-Old, A Year Later

Dozens of police officers knocked on doors in a Tucson neighborhood Wednesday in hopes of finding new information in an investigation of a 6-year-old girl who was abducted more than 18 months ago.

Read more:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/isabel-celis-abducted_n_4609053.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Unknown said...

Hobs!

I love the Simpsons! There is a man I used to work with who is Skinner in the flesh...right down to the overbearing live-in mother, who he can never please, lol

Unknown said...

This 'pastor' is as guilty as they come!

As Hobs pointed out, he asserts that he never did pay them, and gave them no money to do anything 'bad'.

What he said was true, he NEVER DID pay them, but his deception/guilt was revealed by his choice of words. He did hire them to firebomb his ex's family, and he DID have a plan to pay them...but, he NEVER DID.



Anonymous said...

Dani, you want to really trip out, look up youtube on the sandy hook conspiracy. the guy running into the woods, well it was his car that the shooter drove to the school in, and omg he was a registered sex offender. and they let him go.

Anonymous said...

i know a few complete and utter damn liars. they will listen to you for a while, get your opinion on a subject, then totally agree with you and tell you what you want to hear. then the next guy comes along, has a different opinion, tells them what they want to hear. it is just unbelievable that someone can lie like that, but it is our nature to believe what we hear when it is what we want to hear.

Tania Cadogan said...

Jen I love the simpsons, everyone knows a family like them and people like the various campers.

I am also a sucker for big bang theory yaaaaaaay for Sheldon.

Trigger said...

"I" first person singular
"didn't" past tense

"do it" not allegation specific

Not a reliable denial

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update.

Mother of Abigail Hernandez asks daughter to come home in video.

http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/mother-of-abigail-hernandez-asks-daughter-to-come-home-in-video/-/9857858/23941650/-/las3p8z/-/index.html#ixzz2qeIWF7fv

Anonymous said...

OT
Missing 3 year old from Edinburgh.
Mother tells police she put him to bed on Wednesday evening and when she woke up in the morning he was gone..along with his coat and shoes. It now emerges he hasn't been at the kindergarten since the xmas break. No pics of the mother or statements. He has a twin sister and they are the youngest of 4 siblings. Not looking very good for this baby boy.

Tania Cadogan said...

Apparantly he was sleeping on his own in the bedroom he usually shared with his twin sister which made me instantly think of Ayla Reynolds.


We are being told something but what is piquing my interest is what we are not being told, there are truth shaped gaps in what is being released.

I have asked if blood and cadaver dogs have been used since so far they refer only to sniffer sogs.

I have asked if the doors were locked or unlocked along with windows and where were the keys ( if locked and the key was in the lock inside then he couldn't have done it himself.

The fact he has been off school with a 'cold wsince christmas break, is a red flag. If a cold why so long rather than the odd day or so?

What i am not hearting is anyone saying they saw him that day or earlier from outside the family, which is again a red flag.

Two fathers and 3 children could be a custody battle, but then why take one child and not his twin sister as well unless it is because boys are favored over girls and that he would have been expected to be sleeping in the same room as his sister.

The general police consensus is that he didn't walk out of there on his own, so it boils down to who took him, when, why and where.

I also wonder if the family are known to CPS and .or LE since it has been claimed she left the children home alone.

if this is true we then have a possible motive for concealment, accidental death.

I want to hear statements from the family especially the mom and the 911 call ( which is not likely here in the UK)

Anonymous said...

No they won't give out the recording of the 999 call. Social services apparently know the family. The boys grandmother is also a doctor, although this came from 'redtops' newspapers so who knows the truth. 5 children and a single parent, that is a lot of work

Tania Cadogan said...

His mom has been charged with his death.

They haven't said what condition he was in or if it looked to be accidental or deliberate.

She is in court monday.

Since social services were aware of the family and the children had been in care at somepoint, it looks like death by abuse/neglect rather than accident.

We shall have to see what the autopsy reveals and what the charges are.

Apparantly the mcccanns had blurb on their site along with comments which have suddenly been whoosh clucked once he was found and the mom arrested.
No surprise there then.


Also is the deafening silnce in regards to a body being found on the german version of CrimeWatch which featured them.. Cadaver dogs indicated cadaverine and the wwife/mom's body was found hidden behind a new cellar wall.
The husband has confessed to strangling her.

Gerry, the cops asked the dogs and the dogs gave their answer.

They must be furious as they can't spin it to say their case helped solve the disappearance of a mom as it was down to cadaver dogs finding and indicating cadaverine especially coming from behind a cellar wall and we all know how unreliable dogs are.tee hee