Florida:

Jury selection begins Monday morning the trial of a youth minister charged with beating a teenager to death. Joshua Rosa is accused of murdering 13-year-old Stephen Tomlinson more than two years ago. Tomlinson’s body was found at Logan Gate Park, just a few blocks away from his home.

Rosa, 22, worked as a youth minister at the Zion Pentecostal Church. Tomlinson’s father, Ron Tomlinson, has filed a civil lawsuit against the church claiming it failed to properly supervise Rosa with his son.

Oklahoma:

An Oklahoma baptist church has insisted it will proceed with its controversial plan to give away an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle during a youth conference—a move described as “a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event,” according to local Koko 5 news.

Windsor Hills Baptist apparently has a history of worshipping God through firepower, and last year ran a shooting competition as part of its annual shindig. This year, it reportedly shelled out $800 for said trophy semi, but the church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, claimed the main thrust of the conference wasn’t about guns but rather “teens finding faith.”

Florida:

A former youth pastor accused of secretly taping Bible study students changing clothes in his Ellenton home has pleaded no contest to nine counts of voyeurism. Matthew C. Porter, 31, of Ellenton, is scheduled be sentenced on the misdemeanor charges at the Manatee County Judicial Center on Aug. 21.

More details on Matthew C. Porter’s case can be found in this earlier report:

One hidden camera in the pastor’s bathroom was disguised as an air freshener, authorities say. Another camera in a bedroom was concealed by a radio.

Matthew C. Porter, a former youth pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Bradenton, reportedly told Manatee County sheriff’s detectives he secretly taped Bible study students in his home in Ellenton. The victims range in age from 12 to 16.

New York:

Ryan Drumsta, then 16, spent nearly two months recovering from the stomach wound caused by a deer slug his brother fired from a shotgun after they wrestled in the family’s kitchen Nov. 24.

Meanwhile, Nick, 19, was locked away in the Erie County Holding Center on an attempted murder charge….[Ryan] is slowly regaining his health, though he faces “at least one more surgery,” said his mother, Linda. Ryan felt well enough to go for a dirt-bike ride with his youth pastor over the weekend, his mother said.