DELAWARE, Ohio --
The Rev. Leroy Jenkins can continue to sell his "miracle
water'' if he gets a license for the bottled water or puts a
warning label on bottles that read "not for human
consumption.''
The flamboyant
evangelist pleaded no contest yesterday to two counts of selling
bottled water without a license. Three other charges, including
selling contaminated water, were dismissed.
Municipal Court
Judge David Sunderman fined the Leroy Jenkins Evangelistic
Association $500 each on the two misdemeanor licensing charges but
suspended $800 of the fine. He also ordered the association to pay
$150 in court costs.
Jenkins must
comply with regulations enforced by the Ohio Department of
Agriculture, which filed the five misdemeanor charges in June,
City Attorney Peter Ruffing said.
Jenkins said
after the hearing that he will apply for a bottling license, but
that his organization has been refused in the past.
"They are
prejudiced against Leroy Jenkins,'' he said. "It's better
than Delaware city water or Columbus city water.''
The "miracle
water'' comes from a well at Jenkins' Healing Waters Cathedral on
S. Sandusky Street.
It has cured
thousands of people of various ailments during the past 30 years,
the evangelist claimed. People are asked to give a contribution
for the bottled water.
When the state
pressed charges against Jenkins this summer, agriculture officials
said at least one of the bottles contained coliform bacteria,
which are found in human and animal waste.
An investigation
began several months ago after the West Virginia health department
contacted Ohio officials about a person who became ill after
drinking the bottled water, department spokeswoman Melanie Wilt
said. She said no water can be sold for consumption until it is
tested and the organization is licensed.
"If they do
go ahead and try to get licensed, we'll do everything we can to
help them be in compliance,'' she said.