McKenzie trial July 28, more than a year after his arrest

BY JOHN L. GUERRA

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

It has been just over a year since Rev. John W. McKenzie, the former pastor accused of stealing more than $54,000 from of St. James First Missionary Baptist Church in Key West, was charged with the crime.

 

After a year of postponements for various reasons, including the firing of his first lawyer, McKenzie is set for trial at the end of the month.

 

The pastor, head of one of Key West’s most historic but financially modest churches, was arrested June 17, 2013, on grand theft charges. His alleged theft came to light when the church found it didn’t have enough money to fix its bell tower.

 

In the year since his arrest, he has requested and received some eight postponements — of both pretrial hearings and trial dates.

 

McKenzie’s trial is now scheduled for July 28 with a pretrial hearing July 10. According to court records, McKenzie was to have stood trial March 10; May 12; and June 7 but Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Tegan Slaton postponed each one to give McKenzie more time to prepare. McKenzie also fired his first attorney, Merrell Sands, and replaced him with Alan Fowler, who then asked for more time to prepare McKenzie’s case.

 

McKenzie had five pretrial hearings in 2013 alone; in 2014 he’s had three more. Judges often agree to requests for postponement; it helps squash future appeals based on defendant claims that they were not given every chance at receiving a fair trial.

 

Meanwhile, McKenzie is free on personal recognizance.

 

McKenzie voluntarily went to the prosecutor’s office on June 17, 2013, to answer questions. An investigator arrested McKenzie after interviewing him about the missing money that day.

Prosecutors may include testimony about a farm McKenzie and family members allegedly own. State corporation commission records show they filed papers for a farm based in Key West.

McKenzie told investigators he transferred money into an account he could use for church operations because collections during services were down, according to discovery documents the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office released to the press.

 

According to bank records, McKenzie transferred $40,000 from the church’s equity account to the general fund on Jan. 22, 2013, and transferred another $5,000 on March 17. The general fund pays for church operations such as salaries and utility bills.

 

The congregation met for services in the Frederick Douglass Gymnasium as well as another location while the church was undergoing renovations. After the money was found missing, the church found it could not finish the work on its church. The congregation launched a fundraising effort that is still ongoing.

 

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