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Staff Photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press Brendan Barnes, right, a 16-year old charged with killing the Rev. David Strong, exits Judge Rebecca Stern's courtroom Monday.
The teenager charged in the October slaying of a Chattanooga pastor will not face a judge for another month.
On Monday, Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern moved Brendan Barnes' bond hearing to March 21, granting defense attorney Jonathan Turner's request "to look at a few more issues in the case."
Just like that, Barnes' minute-long court appearance ended and Hamilton County deputies walked him back to his jail cell.
Turner is new to the case, appointed as Barnes' counsel days after Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Suzanne Bailey ruled on Feb. 3 that the 16-year-old was "competent to stand trial" as an adult.
Barnes and his 26-year-old cousin, Antonio Henry, are charged with first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery in the killing of the Rev. David Strong, who was pastor of St. Paul AME Church.
According to Chattanooga police Detective Michael Wenger's court testimony, Barnes has a different story than Henry on what happened the night Strong was killed.
Henry told the Times Free Press in jailhouse interviews that he beat Strong with a stick and Barnes stabbed Strong after the pastor made unwanted sexual advances to Henry.
Henry's charges still are pending with the Hamilton County grand jury.
During Barnes' Feb. 3 transfer hearing, Wenger said Barnes told him the pair went to "rob and possibly kill" the pastor. There was no mention of sexuality or unwanted advances during the hearing.
Strong's killers beat him in the face and stabbed him 29 times, his autopsy report states. Alcohol and THC—marijuana's key ingredient—were found in his system.
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Chris Carroll covers federal politics for the Times Free Press. A Chattanooga native, he went to Red Bank High School and graduated with honors from East Tennessee State University. Chris investigated violent crime, municipal government and hospitals before taking the political beat. For tornado coverage, he and Pam Sohn won a first-place Tennessee Associated Press Managing Editors deadline reporting award. In 2010, Chris won the Golden Press Card Award of Merit and another deadline reporting ...
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damn punk looks like a girl.
Get the boy a haircut
Well damn..Cannonball and Alohaboy beat me to the hair cut jokes...Well done guys
For all of you who have all these messed up comments stop hating because you all are probably older and ugly and don"t hold a candle to this young man. Some of you are so mean and evil hearted. I hope you all are not calling yourselves real human beings because you're cackling like a bunch of hens. Stop judging this young man and get a life. I'm sure that you all are PERFECT? NOT!!
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