A pastor who suffered a 15-inch gash that required 20 stitches during a Family and Friends Day celebration at his church says that he will make a formal complaint with the Sampson County Magistrate’s Office for the way he was treated over the weekend when trying to get the bond raised on his attacker.

Willie James Jr., pastor of the St. James Disciples of Christ Church, located at 2385 Delway Highway, Harrells, said that complaint will be against Magistrate J.B. Dixon.

James was slashed in the left side of his chest by Henry Carr Jr., 25, of 2438 Trinity Church Road, Rose Hill, Saturday.

“We had just finished preparing all the food for the event,” James said Tuesday. “And some of the children from the church ran in and told us that a man was outside slashing tires on one of the cars in the parking lot.”

James said that he went out and confronted the man, who happened to be his daughter’s ex-boyfriend.

“I have been an acquaintance of his for the past few years,” James said. “At one point, we had a confrontation a few years back, and I had a restraining order against him. I didn’t think much of him after that until Saturday ... I hadn’t spoken to him and for him to come up to me at church, a place of worship, and we have all these people here — it was just unacceptable.”

James, who said that the restraining order had expired prior to the incident Saturday, said that he knew that his daughter still remained friendly towards her ex because the two have a child together and said that he was not clear on what exactly why Carr was in the parking lot slashing her tires.

“I don’t know,” he said. “All I know is that I went out to confront him and he said to me, ‘you gonna call 911?,’ I told him that I didn’t want to call the police, I just wanted him off of the property and leave.”

The pastor’s plea fell on deaf ears.

“He came towards me, got in my face and charge me, so I put my hands up on his chest,” James said. “And before I knew it, he just slashed me across the chest with the knife.”

James said that the knife looked to be a wood-handled pocket knife.

“I didn’t fall to the ground, but I was bleeding,” James explained. “I was sort of in shock — you know you have a million things running through your mind. My main concern was not so much for me, but for my congregation. I really wasn’t concerned about myself. I didn’t know if he had a gun or what, I just knew I wanted to make sure all the kids were safe.”

The incident took place in front of 100-150 people.

After the incident, James said he saw Carr take off into a wooded area next to the church.

“He ran and I went to sit down,” he said. “My wife applied pressure to my wound, I could hear them talking to me, but I couldn’t answer — I passed out until they threw cold water on me and then I came out of it.”

James was rushed to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington and treated for his 15-inch, 4-inch deep gash that required 20 stitches.

“I was there for a couple of hours and then released,” he said. “I found out that the bond was so low the next day (Sunday). But after I was released from the hospital (around 10 p.m. Saturday night), I went to the magistrate’s office to see exactly what he was charged with.”

What James encountered at the magistrate’s office insulted him.

“When I got to the magistrate’s office, he was there joking around with a guy that was there before me,” he said. “After about a half hour, when it was time for me to be seen, I began to talk with the magistrate and he was really hateful right away, he was really short with me. I began to tell him what had happened to me and he told me what he was charged with ...”

Carr was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and given a $2,500 bond by Dixon.

“I asked him if there was anything that I could do to get more charges on him (Carr),” James said. “He said, ‘no’. I asked him if I could take out a restraining order against him (Carr), again Dixon said ‘no’ and that’s it. I said OK and thanked him and left.”

James said that once it sunk in, he became more upset.

“I mean, he was laughing and joking just before with the other guy,” said James. “I was waiting there for at least 30 minutes and he saw me. When the other guy left, and I went in, his whole attitude changed. He acted like he didn’t care. I am not asking to be padded up or anything, but I feel like I am a taxpayer and I deserve to be treated and respected just like everybody else. It felt like a smack in the face.”

“It is the position — to protect and to serve,” James continued. “Some of us citizens live by that slogan. If you can’t get what you need from the magistrate’s office, who are you going to get it from? It is like going to the church, if you can’t get love at the church, you aren’t going to get it anywhere. It really bothered me the way he treated me.”

The next morning, James honored a commitment to preach at another church and that is when he found out that Carr had posted bond and was out of jail — even before he was let out of the hospital a day before.

“Man, that really upset me,” James said. “Number one, he is free to retaliate, he could come back. My wife is afraid to stay home. Some of the kids that witnessed the incident couldn’t even stay home that night ... It is just terrible. When I found out he was back out on the street, I was just shocked.”

When asked what he thinks of the way his case was handled, James said flatly, “I think things (at the magistrate’s office) need to be re-evaluated,” he said. “Those charges need to be higher — he (Carr) needs to be punished to the highest. The magistrate who set the bond needs to be dealt with too, because this just wasn’t right. I am not saying that out of anger or anything like that. I would just like for him to look at this as if it were him and not just brush it off — everyone, no matter what, should be treated fair.”

James said that he is led by faith. “It has been a very traumatic experience for me,” he said. “Not only that, we have church service and I don’t want people thinking that he is going to show up again ... It has put me in a very compromised position, but I know that God will see me through.”

James said that he will pursue his complaint to make sure that Dixon and Dixon’s superiors know how his case was handled.

“I intend to do whatever I have to do to let this man know how I feel about how I was treated,” James said. “I really didn’t appreciate it. I am not saying that out of anger or anything, it is just a fact. He just acted so nonchalant about my situation ...”

In addition, James said that it was a smack in the face to the law enforcement officers who rushed to arrest Carr, a convicted felon, who has a host of convictions against him dating back to 2003 (according to the North Carolina Department of Corrections).

“It is not fair to me, my family, to the people at my church or to the deputies that put their lives on the line getting him out of the woods,” James said. “The officers had to speed to get there; then they had to deal with this man who had a weapon who was in the woods, he could have had anything on him like a gun. For them to go in there and drag him out of the woods, risking their lives, it is not fair for them either. For Dixon to let this guy post bond and get out after all of that is really an insult, that is all I can say about it.”

Repeated calls to the magistrate’s office for comment Wednesday morning went unanswered.

To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or send e-mail to sisports@myclintonnc.com.