[meteorite-list] Moon-Rocks Suspect Shows Up In Utah, Saying He's Job From The Bible

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:10:08 2004
Message-ID: <200304140150.SAA18911_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/space/orl-locmoonrocks12041203apr12,0,1564950.story

Moon-rocks suspect shows up in Utah, saying he's Job
By Henry Pierson Curtis
Orlando Sentinel
April 12, 2003

A defendant who skipped trial this week in Orlando on charges of stealing
moon rocks from NASA has turned up in Utah, saying he is Job from the
Bible.

Gordon "Gordo" Sean McWhorter's claim that he is the long-suffering
biblical figure means prosecutors must prove his identity before returning
him to Florida, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City.

"He believes he is Job," spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said. "He was quite unruly
after his arrest on Tuesday."

He was arrested in Provo, Utah, where he has relatives.

A bench warrant was issued Monday morning for McWhorter, 27, when he failed to
appear before U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway in Orlando.

McWhorter was arrested last summer in Orlando after trying to sell lunar samples
stolen from the Johnson Space Center in Houston to FBI agents posing as rock
collectors, according to court records.

He is the only one of four defendants who has not pleaded guilty to the theft. The
others were college students who worked at NASA's Astromaterials Research and
Exploration laboratory at the Johnson Space Center, according to court records.

A self-described "vagabond," McWhorter told a judge after his initial arrest that
he owned nothing but a guitar and a cat. He became involved in the plot through a
friend, Thad Roberts, 25, an aspiring astronaut and geologist, who has agreed to
testify against McWhorter, according to press accounts and court records.

A mental-competency hearing likely will be held before McWhorter stands trial in
Orlando federal court, Rydalch said. The earliest a trial could be held would be
next month.
Received on Sun 13 Apr 2003 09:50:00 PM PDT