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(Orlando, Florida-AP) -- A suspect accused of working with three NASA interns to steal moon rocks from a government safe remained at large today -- one day after he didn't show up for his trial in Florida.
Gordon McWhorter of Salt Lake City, was the only one of the four defendants who did not plead guilty to last year's thefts from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. He could face up to ten years in prison and 250 thousand dollars in fines on charges of stealing property of value to the United States and interstate transportation of stolen property.
Prosecutors said the rocks came from every Apollo mission from 1969 to 1972. McWhorter and his three co-defendants carried away a 600-pound safe that also contained meteorites from Mars.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
