Witness: Neighbors sold antiques stolen from Frank Carson’s Turlock property

Testimony resumed Monday in a preliminary hearing for Modesto defense attorney Frank Carson and five others charged in the disappearance and slaying of Turlock resident Korey Kauffman. Here is some of the testimony and evidence presented:

▪ Eula Keyes testified that her boyfriend, his brother and his sister had been selling stolen antiques from Carson’s property. The prosecution claims Carson was frustrated over repeated thefts from his 5-acre property on Ninth Street in Turlock and recruited a group to send a violent message to thieves.

▪ During cross-examination, Keyes said her boyfriend, Mike Cooley, and his siblings sold about 10 to 20 stolen antiques to a man named Mark from Sonora, who said his mother was an antique dealer. She said they only sold the stolen antiques to Mark.

▪ Keyes told investigators that the stolen antiques they sold were tools and old signs. “I didn’t really pay attention to what it was,” Keyes said on the witness stand. Keyes, in March 2012, lived with her boyfriend at a Lander Avenue home. A fence separated her boyfriend’s home and Carson’s property, which housed numerous antiques, scrap metal and old vehicles.

▪ Keyes testified that she has admitted to investigators that she was selling methamphetamine, and her boyfriend was addicted to heroin. Mike Cooley is expected to testify in the hearing. Keyes and Cooley are among the few people who say they last saw Kauffman alive in late March 2012. His remains were found about 18 months later in a remote area of Mariposa County.

Keyes is expected to continue her testimony Tuesday in Stanislaus Superior Court.

This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Witness: Neighbors sold antiques stolen from Frank Carson’s Turlock property."