Charges dropped against Eddie Long's former security guard

Charges have been dropped against a former security guard accused of breaking into American preacher Bishop Eddie Long’s office.

DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James revealed the news on Monday.

“We decided to cut our losses,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported James as saying. He added that prosecution would be made more difficult by Long's reluctance to testify against the suspect Anthony Boyd.

Also, “the defendant is not accused of using a weapon and doesn't have a bad criminal history.”

Boyd was accused of aiding in the June 2010 theft of Long's office inside New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Approximately $100,000 in jewellery and electronics was taken from the office.

This is Long's second attempt to get the charges dropped against Boyd. He tried convincing former DA Gwen Keyes-Fleming last August. Earlier this month, the bishop sent a letter to James, requesting he dismiss the charges.

Boyd and a second suspect, Maurice Robinson, were arrested after the break-in. James said both suspects were offered to enter a pre-trial diversion programme in exchange for a dismissal of charges. Robinson, who later filed a lawsuit against Long alleging sexual misconduct, took the deal, but Boyd did not.

“I had nothing to do with it,” Boyd said. “This has been over a year of my life worrying about what was going to happen.”

Boyd's attorney, David Fife, said entering the programme would have required Boyd to acknowledge there was sufficient evidence against him.

According to Fife, Long requested to have the charges dropped after learning he would be required to testify.

“This is a blessed opportunity for Anthony Boyd,” Long said in a statement earlier this week.

“As it is written in 2 Corinthians 5:17, 'anyone who belongs to Christ becomes a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.' We remain prayerful for he and his family and wish him well in his future life pursuits.”