Porter trial: Porter used money from Craig’s accounts, witnesses say
By SUSAN HERENDEEN
Posted on Wed, Jul. 02, 2008 03:12 PM
Some of the money former pastor Howard “Doug” Porter used to move homes to a family compound in La Grange came from an account elderly rancher Frank Craig had set up to build an agricultural museum, according to testimony this morning in Stanislaus County Superior Court.
Craig’s relatives had filed a lawsuit to contest Porter’s control of Craig’s estate, and the ugly allegations prompted publicity that forced Porter to leave the pulpit after preaching for nearly two decades.
Porter, 57, is accused of embezzling $1.1 million Craig wanted to spend on the museum, then staging two wrecks to cover his tracks. Craig was crippled in a March 5, 2002 wreck when Porter’s Toyota Tundra veered off Lake Road and slammed into a tree. Craig drowned April 22, 2004, when his GMC Sonoma, which Porter regularly drove, veered off an access road and landed in the Ceres Main Canal east of Swanson Road.
Craig gave Porter control of his finances after he inherited $2.5 million from a brother and believed his dream of building a museum to showcase farm equipment collected over decades could become a reality.
Porter has been held without bail since his arrest Nov. 27, 2006. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, theft or embezzlement from an elder by a caretaker and elder abuse causing death.
The prosecution is heading toward the end of its case and likely will wrap up tomorrow, turning the trial over to the defense when the trial resumes Monday.
Abridged
SOURCE: KansasCity
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