An initial hearing has been set for a former minister accused of staging a burglary at his home to obtain insurance money to pay a drug debt.
Former First Christian Church senior minister Justin White, 38, of 3255 Sunrise Drive, is scheduled to appear before Bartholomew Circuit Judge Kelly Benjamin at 10 a.m. April 13, court records state.
White is accused of felony criminal charges of insurance fraud and contributing to the delinquency of a minor after being accused of staging a Dec. 18 burglary at his home to obtain insurance money to pay a drug debt, court documents state.
The charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor relates to White being accused of seeking to have a juvenile commit an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, dealing in a narcotic drug, court documents state.
In a probable-cause affidavit, Columbus Police Department detectives said the juvenile suspected of being involved in the burglary told them that White had a drug problem.
The juvenile said White had been asking him to provide drugs since he was a 15-year-old on house arrest, when White was counseling him, court documents state.
White had been on a leave of absence from the church before submitting his resignation March 12, which was announced Sunday.
The former pastor was arrested at 6:45 p.m. March 24 at his home and was subsequently released from jail in lieu of $150,000 bond, Bartholomew County Jail officials said.
