Reverend George Loeb
In 1991, Harold Mansfield Jr., an African-American and decorated veteran of the Gulf War, was killed in a parking lot in Neptune Beach, Florida by Reverend George Loeb, a Church of the Creator reverend. George Loeb was convicted of first-degree [...] on July 29, 1992, and received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. But was it [...] or self defense?
Biography
Reverend George David Loeb Junior was born 3 February 1957, in Holy Name Hospital, in Teaneck, New Jersey. He has traveled extensively within the US. Raised in North Miami, he has also lived in Boulder, Colorado; Tampa, Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida.
George Loeb holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Admin, and is a former consumer advocate. Co-founder of Citizens for a Better Florida Inc., George and his firm produced his Florida's first telemarketing no-call list. George has also worked in retail management, sales and customer service.
Cuban immigration made George a virtual foreigner in his home town of Miami. “Bussing” showed him the violent disruptive nature of minority groups. Moreso, George says his name itself set the stage for others to reveal their racism.
“80% of all people named Loeb are Jewish,” says George, who grew up in a neighborhood having a significant Jewish minority.
“They treated me like kin when they thought I was one of them. They treated me like a dog when they found out that I wasn’t.”
An Incident in a Parking Lot Leads to Death
In May of 1991, George, and his wife Barbara drive into a supermarket parking lot in Jacksonville, Florida, to buy groceries. As they enter the parking lot a car driven by Harold Mansfield Jr., a black Gulf War veteran almost strikes their car. The two drivers exchanged angry insults, with Mansfield calling Reverend Loeb a “cracker” and a “honkie”. Mansfield drives off, and the Loebs continue their shopping.
The Loebs had purchased their groceries, were back in their car, and ready to go home when Mansfield returned – this time with another Black male and a brick. Mansfield got out of his car and advanced toward the Loebs’ vehicle with the brick in his hand. Mansfield menacingly shouted to George, “I’m gonna smash your motherfu..ing head in”.
As Mansfield approached, George responded by tearing open the glove compartment of his car, and seizing a 0.25 mm pistol his wife kept in there for her protection, fired two shots at Mansfield, [...] him.
George was arrested and charged with [...]. At the trial both the defense witnesses and the prosecution witnesses recounted nearly the same sequence of events. The prosecution witnesses – the Mansfield’s friend and a White woman who had been in the parking lot – both admitted that Mansfield had threatened to smash George’s head with the brick he carried.
George was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 25 years. Barbara Loeb was sentenced to one year in prison on weapons possession charges.
Fallout from George Loeb's Conviction
Subsequently, the dead man's family with the assistance of the Southern Poverty Law Center, successfully sued The Church, winning an award of $1 million in damages in March 1994. Prior to the lawsuit, The Church placed the organization's North Carolina property, which housed its headquarters, on the real estate market, but eventually agreed to sell it to Dr. William Pierce, head of the National Alliance. The SPLC filed suit against Pierce for his role in what it claims was a fraudulent scheme, and won an $85,000 judgement in 1995.
The Church of the Creator (as it was then known), effectively ended until it was revived under a new name by Matthew F. Hale in 1996 and later again by the Creativity Alliance in 2007.
Is an Appeal Forthcoming?
Citing differences in witness statements and evidence given in court, George states that his conviction was based on the organized perjured testimony of several witnesses and is currently campaigning for a retrial.