HOT: Pastor Of Dad's Place, Chris Avell, In Handcuffs And Arraigned In Court Because He Kept His Church Open 24/7 To Provide Warmth To The Unhoused During This Brutal Cold Snap In Bryan, Ohio

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Pastor of Dad’s Place, Chris Avell, in handcuffs and arraigned in court because he kept his church open 24/7 to provide warmth to the unhoused during this brutal cold snap in Bryan, Ohio.

Pastor Chris Avell is facing criminal charges. The city of Bryan, Ohio says the Pastor is breaking the law because he opened Dad’s Place Church 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to serve his community, including the homeless looking for a place to come in out of the cold. He’s been hit with 18+ violations of the zoning code.

CP reached out for comment to Schlade and received a response from City Police Chief Gregory Ruskey, who forwarded a Dec. 13 press release from the police department explaining that the city’s zoning and engineering department “received a complaint in regards to people living” at Dad’s Place on Nov. 3.

A court filing states that because Dad’s Place is zoned as Central Business, the building is prohibited from allowing people to eat, wash clothes, or sleep on the property.

Attorneys Jeremy Dys and Ryan Gardner were at the arraignment with Pastor Chris on Thursday. Here’s their quick update on how it went:

“This week, the City of Bryan, OH arraigned Pastor Chris on criminal charges for operating a church 24/7. He pled ‘NOT GUILTY’ as any pastor should who is simply doing what churches throughout history have done: care for those who walk through their doors no matter the time of day. We hope Mayor Schlade will back off of these charges and talk with us about how Pastor Chris and Dad’s Place can continue to contribute to the wonderful community of Bryan.”

“We hope Mayor Carrie Schlade will drop all of these charges and begin talking with us about how Pastor Chris and Dad’s Place will continue to contribute to the wonderful community of Bryan,” he added.