Saturday, Aug. 09, 2008

Jurors defend murder, abuse convictions of Doug Porter

In interviews, they suggest Porter's former church build victim's planned museum

As the trial of former Hickman pastor Howard "Doug" Porter stretched from weeks into months, juror Cameron Miller started to worry that others on the panel might not see that the country preacher was a con man.

The 12 jurors had been warned not to talk about the pastor who had been accused of murdering a man after stealing his fortune, so there was no way for Miller to know which way the others were leaning.

As deliberations approached, Miller mapped out a strategy in his mind, going over all the things that proved Porter drove Frank Craig into a tree in an unsuccessful attempt to kill him, then finished the job two years later by driving into a canal in which Craig drowned.

Yet inside the deliberation room Monday morning, Miller did a complete turnabout.

In an interview Friday, he recalled becoming somewhat alarmed because a few jurors seemed ready to convict Porter without discussing key pieces of evidence. Though he still felt Porter was guilty, Miller found himself arguing that they should all take another look at the defense, just to be sure.

"It was a little surreal," said Miller, 24, who got a break from his job stocking shelves at Wal-Mart in Modesto while helping to decide one of the more sensational cases to come through Stanislaus County Superior Court in recent years.

The jury took just six hours to agree that evidence of Porter's guilt was overwhelming.

Three jurors -- foreman Mark Torres, Miller and a woman who asked that her name not be used -- said the jury deliberated carefully, despite the swiftness of the verdict.

Prosecution witnesses were believable, they said, while people who testified for the defense seemed interested in blaming anyone but Porter.

Defense experts told stories that didn't stand up to scrutiny, particularly a certified public accountant who said expenses Porter paid with Craig's money could be justified through "the magic of accounting."

And Porter's decision to testify on his own behalf eliminated any doubts the jurors might have had about his guilt. That's because Porter answered his attorney's questions in great detail, but developed a memory lapse when it was the prosecutor's turn to ask questions.

"I think that was a mistake on his part," said Torres, 53, who works in the treasury department at Bay Area Rapid Transit.

Craig was 83 in 2002 when Porter's Toyota Tundra veered off Lake Road west of La Grange and slammed into a tree. Craig was 85 when his GMC Sonoma, driven by Porter, veered off an embankment and plunged into the Ceres main canal near Swanson Road.

Jurors said they paid close attention when investigators said they found no signs of braking at either collision scene.

Caregiver quality noted

Craig was crippled in the 2002 wreck, and Porter had power of attorney over his finances and health care decisions. So testimony about the quality of caregivers Porter provided was important, too.

A paper trail mattered because Craig was a lifelong collector of antiques and junk, and he dreamed of using more than $2 million he inherited from a brother to build an agricultural museum to showcase his treasures.

The authorities traced $1.1 million Craig wanted to spend on a museum to Porter and members of his family, saying much of it went to build a family compound in La Grange that was dubbed "Rivendell" and stood behind an electronic gate.

The money gave Porter a motive, but crucial testimony came when Porter described the wreck that claimed Craig's life in a tone that seemed cold and aloof.