Former Eddie Long Security Guard Pleads Not Guilty

A security guard at Bishop Eddie Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church said he was not involved in a plot to break into the bishop's office.

Anthony Boyd entered a not guilty plea to a burglary charge. One of his co-defendants was one of the men who settled a sexual misconduct lawsuit against Long recently.

DeKalb County police said it was back in June 2010 when Anthony Boyd and Maurice Robinson, a former church member, broke into Long's office on the church campus. Boyd's attorney, David Fife, said the now-fired security guard had nothing to do with the break in.

Fife told Channel 2's Tom Jones that he wants a trial to clear his client's name.

"He wants to fight these charges. He wants to fight these accusations because he's forever going to have to explain them every time someone does a Google search on Anthony Boyd," Fife said.

Boyd said Robinson and another former church member broke in to get evidence against Long for a sexual misconduct lawsuit they were planning to file.

"So that’s when they burglarized the church, stole the iPad, iPhone and the jewelry," Boyd told Channel 2 Action News in a recent interview.

Robinson was offered a pretrial diversion program where the charges would be dropped if he successfully completed it. Boyd was offered the same program but said he declined the offer because he did nothing wrong.

DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James doesn't see it that way.

"Based on the facts and the evidence contained in the file and based on the conversations that I’ve had with my staff, the evidence is there to sustain a burglary charge," James said.

Fife said he expects this case to go to trial.

If it does, he said, there's a good chance Long will be called to the stand.

"He's certainly a witness that would have to be called by somebody. The state or the defense," Fife said.

Boyd faces a 20-year prison sentence if he is convicted.