GALVESTON, Texas -- A man and his wife who were indicted in a $1.5 million theft from his mother spent the money on a trip to Hawaii, new cars and land, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Edwin Garrott Armstead, 50, and his wife Mary Armstead, 36, appeared Tuesday in Galveston’s 212th District Court, but Judge Susan Criss refused to lower their bonds at the request of their attorney, R.A. Apffel.
Bond for Mary Armstead was set at $500,000 on charges of felony theft and misapplication of fiduciary property. Edwin Armstead was held on $250,000 bond on a felony theft charge.
Between Aug. 3, 2006, and March 30, 2009, the couple took money, property, stock certificates, dividends and insurance proceeds from Betty Pecore Armstead, 80, according to the January indictment by a grand jury.
An indictment isn’t a guilty verdict. It means the jury heard enough evidence to send the case to trial. A trial date hasn’t been set.
Betty Armstead, who lives in an assisted living center in Friendswood, inherited from her father hundreds of shares of Humble Oil — now ExxonMobil — stock worth $3 million, prosecutor Donna Goode said.
The couple spent the money on, "a trip to Hawaii, new cars, gave it as gifts to friends, and bought 35 acres in Dewitt County," Goode said. A concerned sister reported the incident, Goode said.
On Oct. 16, Mary Armstead took Betty Armstead to a doctor, because the 80-year-old was becoming confused with her medications, Goode said.
On the same day, Mary Armstead had a gift deed notarized, giving her and her husband Betty Armstead’s Galveston home, Goode said. The house is worth more than $200,000, Goode said.
In asking Criss to deny the bond reduction, Goode said the case involves both defendants who were in a position of trust, including Mary Armstead as a fiduciary.
Edwin Armstead’s mental state was mentioned during the hearing.
"I don’t think he knew what was going on," Apffel told Criss. "He was taking care of his mom."
Goode told Criss: "I don’t know whether it’s ignorance or deliberate ignorance, but the evidence shows he enjoys the spoils of his wife’s activities."
Goode intends to make a request to depose Betty Armstead within 60 days, citing the woman’s health and questions about whether she suffers from dementia.
Apffel, who argued the Armsteads weren’t a flight risk, told Criss the two "don’t have any money."
Attorney Greg Russell was appointed to represent Edwin Armstead, and Joel Bennett was appointed as Mary Armstead’s lawyer, a court official said.
