A Louisiana local minister was arrested Tuesday, June 23, after authorities said he ran across a four-lane highway to assault a neighbor who allegedly threatened to rape and kill his family. East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s deputies booked Mark Anthony ‘Tony’ Spell, the pastor of Life Tabernacle Church, on a felony charge of second-degree battery following the physical altercation outside Baton Rouge.
The incident occurred along Hooper Road in Central, where surveillance footage captured Spell crossing the roadway to confront the 20-year-old victim. Records show the Louisiana victim required hospital treatment for injuries sustained during the ensuing fight.
What emerged next was a bitter dispute that sparked the violence. Spell said during a Wednesday press conference that he was working on a church bus when the young man began shouting explicit death and r*pe threats targeting his wife and grandchildren.
“I have a duty and obligation to do what I did.”
— Tony Spell, pastor of Life Tabernacle Church, Wafb
He said, “Number one, I’m a husband, number two, I’m a father, and number three, I’m a pastor who shepherds his flock,” he said. “I will not allow a man to murder my children when I’m gone.”
“In my name, they shall lay hands on the sick. And they shall recover. So today, I fulfilled the scripture. I laid hands on the sick. I don’t know how much recovery they’re going to have, but I laid hands on the sick.”
— Tony Spell, pastor of Life Tabernacle Church, Wafb
The neighbor’s family, identified as the Sherwins, denied the accusations and provided a different narrative. The family released home security footage that captured Spell tackling the 20-year-old to the ground, pinning him and delivering multiple punches while shouting that he would “break his neck.”
“This pastor is a bully who gets mad when he does not get his way,” the Sherwin family said in a statement to local reporters.
Court documents show Spell previously sued the Louisiana family, claiming they used an industrial-scale home surveillance system to monitor his congregation and church activities.
“Allegations that the Central Police Department has failed to investigate complaints lodged by Pastor or Mrs. Spell are untrue. Our records reflect only 5 incidents involving Pastor or Mrs. Spell in the past 4 years, and only one of those involved a complaint against their neighbors.”
— Roger Corcoran, Central Police Chief, Wbrz
By the time, Louisiana deputies finalized the booking, Spell had secured bond and was released from East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Officials confirmed that the Central Police Department had no prior record of the threats Spell claimed prompted the confrontation.
Disclaimer: Inquisitr individually could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the official law enforcement and media information available.
