Rev. Drake Wins Delay of Sentence for Appeal

The Southern Baptist pastor convicted of illegally housing the homeless won a postponement of his sentencing Friday so he could prepare a request for a new trial.

The Rev. Wiley S. Drake, pastor of the First Southern Baptist Church on Western Avenue, was surrounded by supporters Friday morning in North Orange County Municipal Court.

Drake’s attorney, Jon Alexander, told Judge Gregg L. Prickett that he may have found grounds for a new trial “based on interviews with five jurors.”

Alexander did not elaborate, and Prickett set Sept. 19 as the new sentencing date.

The pastor’s two-week trial last month won nationwide attention before it ended with Drake’s conviction on four criminal misdemeanor counts of violating local zoning and building laws.

He faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine on each count, although the prosecutor said he is seeking only probation--and a Drake promise that he won’t break the law again.

His penalty is hardly a done deal, however, with Drake saying he will refuse to abide by any terms that require him to move the homeless off church grounds.

Earlier this month, he joined an L.A.-based nonprofit group that wants to convert an Orange County motel into a shelter, but Drake said that was unrelated to his legal difficulties.

“I will not kick people off this property,” Drake said Friday. “I will do my best to negotiate with the judge, with the city, with anybody that wants to negotiate. But I’m not going to violate the Constitution, my conscience or the word of God, which is to do my duty.”

City Prosecutor Martin J. Mayer said the city has never wanted to send Drake to jail. The final decision will be in the judge’s hands, he added.

“Twelve members of the community sat as jurors, listened to testimony, heard everything the pastor wanted them to hear and concluded he violated the law,” Mayer said. “The laws are passed with a rational basis. That’s what our system is about. Without it, you would have anarchy.”