Archived News

Anthony Boyd (left), represented by attorney David Fife (right), pleaded not guilty to burglarizing the office of Bishop Eddie Long last year. Boyd refused a pretrial diversion program in order to fight the charges, Fife said. Photo by Ricky Riley

A former security guard for Bishop Eddie Long’s Lithonia church pleaded not guilty in court June 28 in connection with a June 2010 burglary.

Anthony Boyd, who was arraigned on one count of burglary, is ready to fight the charges, his attorney, David Fife, said.

“He’s got strong principles,” Fife said. “He feels like he should have never been charged. He wants to fight this to the end.”

Boyd, who has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, is accused of using his position as a security guard at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in a burglary of approximately $100,000 in jewelry and electronics from Long’s office.

“They’ve got the wrong man because he’s not involved in this particular charge,” Fife said. “And that’s what we’re going to be able to prove in court.”

Unlike Maurice Robinson, who was also charged in the case, Boyd did not participate in the court’s pretrial diversion program in exchange for having the case dismissed. Robinson was one four plaintiffs in sex abuse lawsuits against Long.

“He wants to fight these charges,” Fife said. “He wants to fight these accusations because he’s forever going to have to explain them every time someone does a Google search on Anthony Boyd.”

Fife said it would be difficult for Boyd to explain why he participated in a pretrial diversion program if he were innocent of the charges.

“He’s got to come out now and defend himself because…everybody else can look on the internet and assume that’s who he is,” Fife said. “He wants to stand up in court and fight and say, ‘Look, I had nothing to do with this. This is not who I am.’”

Fife said the allegations have taken a toll on his client.

“For several years he was unable to get a job until someone really believed in him and gave him a chance and looked past what you can find on the internet and find in the press,” Fife said.

“We’re looking for a vindication and we’re going to get it in open court if we have to,” Fife said.

DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said his office believes it has enough evidence to prove its case.

“If we weren’t confident that a crime had been committed, we wouldn’t have indicted the case,” James said.

“I understand that there’s a great bit of media interest in this case. But the reality to us is [that] it’s like every other burglary that comes through our office.”