On the Second Day, Drake Accepts Order on Homeless

Standing inside his controversial homeless shelter, the Rev. Wiley Drake received a court injunction Wednesday ordering his two dozen homeless guests to move.

“Momentarily, they’ve prevailed,” Drake’s attorney, Jon Alexander, said of city officials.

But City Atty. D. Craig Fox said there is no plan to forcefully evict the homeless people.

If, however, the pastor does not comply with the court order within “a reasonable time,” he could be arrested for contempt of court, Fox said.

However, Adlore Clarambeau, another of Drake’s attorneys, said he has filed an appeal of the injunction, which automatically stays it.

On Wednesday, Alexander handed the server a copy of that appeal.

The injunction, signed by Superior Court Judge Randell L. Wilkinson, was first served Tuesday.

But Drake refused to accept the papers, which landed on the ground.

City attorneys sent another server to the church on Wednesday, and she succeeded.

For more than a year, the outspoken pastor and the city have been in a legal battle over whether the church has violated city codes by allowing the homeless to live on church grounds.

The dispute focuses on a patio structure where food and clothing are stored and homeless people sleep in rows of cots.

City attorneys have pursued the case through civil and criminal courts.

Gregory Palmer, assistant city prosecutor, told a Municipal Court jury during the criminal trial that the city is not trying to halt Drake’s humanitarian efforts but merely to force him to do it in a safe and legal manner.

Earlier this week, that jury voted to convict the 53-year-old pastor of four misdemeanor zoning code violations, each carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail and $1,000 in fines.

Drake is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Gregg L. Prickett on Aug. 22.

Wednesday’s court order is not related to the criminal case and affects only the people living inside the makeshift shelter.

Drake said Thursday that he will not “throw anybody off church property.”

Several homeless men and women staying in the makeshift shelter said they do not plan to move.

But just in case the police come knocking on the door, Alexander said, “we’ve made provision for them to go across the lot to another building.”