Jurors on Friday afternoon convicted Liberty City's Rev. Gaston Smith of looting $10,000 in county grant money intended to help the poor.

He is now convicted of third-degree grand theft.

After a three-day trial marked by bitter legal skirmishes, a tense, packed courtroom and citywide political interest, jurors on Thursday began deliberating Smith's fate.

Jurors heard dramatic pitches Thursday afternoon in attorneys' closing arguments.

Defense lawyer Larry Handfield insisted the county's contract with Friends of MLK, a group Smith founded, never specified that grant funds should actually be kept in a bank. Failing to keep records ``is not a criminal act,'' he said.

``Where was the criminal intent?'' Handfield asked.

But the pastor, prosecutor Richard Scruggs argued, knew he was thieving when he furiously withdrew cash from the MLK account via ATMs in Houston, Orlando and Las Vegas -- including $500 at a Vegas martini bar -- while failing to document how the money was spent to better the inner city.

``Day after day after day, at $500 a pop. I submit to you, that's the maximum amount the card would allow,'' Scruggs told jurors. ``He was looting that account on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. It's simply unbelievable to somehow think he had some big pocket where he kept that money.''

The pastor is charged with third-degree grand theft. The Metro Miami Action Plan Trust gave his organization a $25,000 county grant in 2005 to help revitalize Liberty City.

Smith is the pastor at Liberty City's historic Friendship Missionary Baptist Church.

His most prominent parishioner, suspended Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, is awaiting trial for allegedly pilfering two other $25,000 MMAP grants. She has pleaded not guilty.

In his opening statement, defense lawyer Michael Tein had promised to show that Smith's arrest was a campaign fueled by malicious investigators upset about Smith's refusal to cooperate against Spence-Jones.

Tein also said Smith's nonprofit could point to accomplishments, including securing big grants from Burger King and former Boston Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn. But those issues remained unaddressed after the defense elected not to present witnesses.

Instead, the lawyers attacked what they said was a lack of evidence and unreliable witnesses, including county contract manager William Simmons, who acknowledged he had noted in an internal report that the scope of Friends of MLK work was ``70 percent'' done -- even though Smith's group never submitted a single report tracking expenditures.

``It's like someone urinating on you, and then trying to convince you its rain!'' Handfield cried, drawing many snickers from the crowd.

Smith's community support was evident. The courtroom was packed with supporters wearing polo shirts bearing his name. They held a prayer circle in the hallway.

During closing arguments, some openly and loudly mocked Scruggs as he argued, prompting a warning from the judge.

In a PowerPoint presentation, Tein displayed a quote from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.: ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.''

``Dr. King wrote that in a letter from a Birmingham jail,'' Tein reminded jurors, four of whom are black and two Hispanic.

But Scruggs rebuffed the King comparisons.

``This defendant is not being charged with violating the principles of Dr. King,'' Scruggs said. ``He is trying to put a mask on his criminal activity to make you think about something else.''