A former Assembly of God pastor has been charged in the theft of more than half a million dollars from a Harrison church.
Brian Keith Herring, 46, now of Fayetteville, was charged Monday in Boone County Circuit Court with theft of property and tampering with physical evidence, both felonies.
Herring, who was lead pastor at Harrison Faith Assembly of God Church, was arrested Saturday and released that day on $50,000 bond, according to Boone County jail records.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit from Cpl. Jason Brisco, an investigator with the Boone County sheriff's office, Herring had a credit card belonging to the church and "used that card for personal gain in the amount of $524,634.25."
That's the figure reached after an audit by Joshua Jacobs, an attorney and certified public accountant who works with Assembly of God Churches across Arkansas, according to the affidavit.
Representatives of the church initially reported the suspected theft to the sheriff's office on Oct. 7, according to the affidavit and criminal information filed by Brad Brown, deputy prosecuting attorney.
On Oct. 13, Herring turned in items belonging to the church, including a laptop, an iPad and two phones.
"All of the electronic items returned to the church by the defendant had been factory reset and all church account information had been deleted from the devices," according to the criminal information.
On Nov. 9, Jacobs informed Brisco of the extent of the missing money.
Brisco went to meet Herring and found Herring's house in Boone County empty and for sale, according to the criminal information.
Herring is a former Harrison City Council member who resigned in 2017 after moving outside the city limits, according to the Harrison Daily-Times. He served on the council for three years.