Cops: Somerville pastor faked his assault

SOMERVILLE - The pastor of an East Main Street church has been charged with faking being bound, gagged and assaulted by vandals on Friday.

Jairon Pena, 36, of Somerville, has been released on his own recognizance after being charged with making a false public alarm, false swearing and making a fictitious police report, Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said.

Pena, pastor of the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, 147 E. Main St., was charged after police responded to a 911 call at about 11:20 a.m. Friday that a person at the church had been assaulted and tied up.



Officers responding to the church found Pena with his hands loosely tied behind his back, his legs tied and a piece of cloth stuffed into his mouth, Soriano said.



Pena had a plastic bag over his head, along with a piece of paper taped to his chest and back with a misspelled Islamic phrase, the prosecutor said.

Pena, who was alert and conscious, told the officers that he had been assaulted by two men and a woman who were wearing masks and wearing gloves.

But Pena's story started to unravel as officers began to notice inconsistencies in his account, according to Soriano.

Pena said that about 10:30 a.m. he heard a loud banging on the front door of the church and went to investigate.

He was then attacked by the three suspects, who took took the Bibles from pews and scattered them throughout the sanctuary, Soriano said.

Pena also said the men and woman stomped on the Bibles while they ridiculed his God. They then tied his hands and legs, stuffed a rag in his mouth, put the plastic bag over his head and taped the paper with the Islamic writing to his body, Soriano said.

Police's suspicions were further aroused when Pena did not have any visible injuries, which normally be associated with being bound and assaulted, Soriano said.

Investigation found that Pena had lied to police, according to the prosecutor.

Pena had fabricated the entire event by staging a crime scene due to some personal events in his life, Soriano said.

Detectives from the Somerville Police Department, along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations and Forensics Unit, and agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Newark and Franklin Township Field Offices conducted the investigation.



Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com