"Altercation" In Jordan, More Details

Image From Church Website, click here for link

Megan G. already wrote a quick email account of the alleged "altercation" involving Jerry Moore and others in the Jordan neighborhood, which both this blog and IBNN published. Goodmundson recently forwarded an updated, more detailed account...

It is regrettable I only have Megan's side, here. I have contacted Moore through Facebook and spoke to him in person. I am open to publishing Moore's side of things whenever he wants to put that in writing and forward it. Understandably, one may wish to invoke the "right to remain silent" at times.

Word from two different sources is the police report lists, like, approximately eleven witnesses to the altercation.

Here is Megan's's email, with minor alterations for clarity.

"OK, here's the short and sweet.

"Jerry Moore--ED (Excutive Director of JACC)--who has been under scrutiny by the community for job performance, money management issues, other legal issues including (a) restraining order filed by him (Moore) against a board member that has been unrelenting in request(s) for transparency, that was denied by Henn(ipen) County Courts.

Megan G--volunteer, community member.

Denny W(agner)--community member.

(Oh, I get it. It's like a little cast of characters in a drama)

Miss Champion--community member, sister of state house rep Bobby Jo Champion.

Vlad--Community member, newly elected board member.

PJ (Howard)--Community member, already seated board member.

Place: Jordan New Life (Church) Re-Scheduled Elections Of Board Members

During the meeting some elected officials stood to address (the) community. During this time Miss Champion started asking some questions about "where is the money for our youth community" (and) "our youth need more programs, where is the money going to come from and what is the money being spent on."

At this time, Denny W. wrote a(nd) passed a note that said something to the effect of "If you want to know about the money, ask Jerry Moore, the ED, he can explain what he has spent $250k on for this community."

After the meeting was over, folks were cleaning up and mingling around. Jerry and Miss Champion were having some kind of conversation. Denny Wagner observed the conversation and went over to put in his two cents. He said something to Jerry then patted Jerry on the back three times, not in a sincere way, but in a sarcastic way as to say, "Yeah, sur, way to go with the money, Jerry," sarcastically.

Jerry snapped and began swinging towards Denny, who was already walking away and continued walking away to avoid a fight. Several people saw this and rushed in to restrain Jerry or get in between, including myself.

During that chaotic scuffle, Jerry briefly turned his rage toward me, making swipes towards me and pushing me back. When PJ and Vlad saw Jerry turning his anger on a woman, they stepped in as well. As PJ was attempting to restrain Jerry, he (Jerry) began punching on PJ, at this point closed fist swinging.

Jerry was restrained by several people and quickly ushered out of the back of the building. Shortly, the police arrived and took statements.

It can only be assumed Jerry was extremely upset about the results of the elections. In October there was the annual meeting/elections. Jerry failed to prepare and execute the elections, ballot and preparations, and community notifications in the proper and required ways (by-laws) and the community voted to postpone the elections to do them correctly.

A committee worked hard to fix errors and execute preparations properly, including full vetting of all candidates to ensure they met the eligibility requirements according to by-laws. Two candidates ended up withdrawing, and two candidates ended up not being approved by committee due to their lack of response to requests for verification of employment within the neighborhood.

Also, at the elections, voters were required to show ID or other form of identification. Several people who showed up at the meeting were not given a ballot, although they all seemed to understand and did not raise any objections.

During the election meeting, there was a motion made by an already seated board member who said the committee requirements were too strenuous. There was a brief discussion regarding this and the committee clarified that all procedures were documented and available for review and the committee followed the by-laws and stat laws regarding identification/verification.

The committee consisted of 3 board members, 2 community members, and 2 official observers, one from the city, one a highly-respected community organizer named Jay Clark.

(END OF MEGAN'S EMAIL)

I also received word that Anna Pratt, a freelance journalist who has been following JACC happenings for a year or so was present, and apparently Pratt posted the following.

"I missed the conflict's beginning stages, but did catch Moore taking aim at some people crowded around him, a few successfully. The fight was broken up before anyone was seriously wounded, but a number of community members who congregated afterwards to talk with authorities were dismayed by the dramatic turn of events. 

"Curiously, it was some comments from a neighbor about suspicious JACC expenses that set him off. Moore fled the scene before cops arrived. 

"The incident is the latest in the JACC saga involving a power struggle, money problems and more. Watch for my story on JACC that will appear in the Spokesman-Recorder."