Worse than Poaching

Intermountain Region
Colorado Man Convicted On ARPA Charges

On June 17th, Charles Lindsey of Colorado Springs pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating the Archaeological Resource Protection Act (16 USC 470 ee (b)) following his arrest for numerous ARPA violation in NPS, BLM and other areas. An investigation into Lindsey’s activities was begun in 2005 when his ex wife reported his looting to NPS and BLM special agents. She was concerned that he was passing down his illegal activities to their son, who was 12 at the time. She reported that her son came home from a vacation trip to Glen Canyon with Lindsey and his grandmother and reported that his father had hunted for and taken numerous pot sherds, stone points, pieces of petrified wood, dinosaur bones, and mineral resources such as “Moki marbles” (iron oxide concretions) from the Defiance House and Rincon areas of Lake Powell. Investigators subsequently determined that Lindsey had also taken a pot and a large metate from Mesa Verde, vertebrate fossils from BLM lands, and dinosaur remains from Badlands. These items and others that were seized during the execution of two search warrants in the Colorado Springs and Woodland Park areas will be forfeited to the government as part of the plea agreement, including three large sifting screens that Lindsey used to find artifacts. Lindsey, who had been a Park County Sheriff's Office deputy and an investigator for the Colorado Division of Gaming, will receive six months unsupervised probation as part of the plea agreement. The investigation was a joint effort by BLM, NPS, DOI OIG and Forest Service special agents. [Submitted by Beth Shott, Special Agent]

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

Buffalo National River (AR)
Husband And Wife Sentenced On ARPA Charges

On January 9, 2008, rangers were alerted to the recent looting of a known archeological site in the park’s upper district. After two days of surveillance, rangers Lee Brumbaugh, Kelly Charbonneau, and Ranger James Purcell (from Natchez Trace) installed surveillance equipment near the site. While installing the equipment, rangers contacted William A. Graves and a juvenile walking toward the area. Graves was in possession of digging tools and boots that matched impressions left in the recently excavated looter holes. Misty Graves, William Graves’ wife, remained at a trailhead area with their vehicle. She was found to be in possession of artifacts and a pick. Further investigation and crime scene analysis positively linked the Graves to the site. A search warrant of their residence was executed by rangers and NPS special agents, resulting in the discovery of numerous items associated with collecting artifacts and other evidence linking the Graves and others to excavating activities in the park and on nearby private land. After a six month investigation in conjunction with agents from the NPS Investigative Services Branch, the Graves were indicted by a federal grand jury. During a subsequent interview, Graves admitted to digging in the park and relinquished 71 stone tools, projectile points, or other artifacts that he said originated from the site. On June 24th, William and Misty Graves were formally sentenced in US District Court. As a result of a plea agreement, William A. Graves was sentenced under one felony count of violating ARPA to six months imprisonment and one year of supervised probation. Misty Graves was sentenced under one misdemeanor count of ARPA and received one year of supervised probation. The two have also been ordered to pay $4,613 in restitution to the park. The park’s archeologist, Dr. Caven Clark, was instrumental in the investigation and provided expert testimony during the sentencing proceedings. Rangers from Buffalo NR and Hot Springs NP, as part of the Cultural and Archeological Response Team (CART), assisted during the course of the investigation. [Submitted by Lee Brumbaugh, Middle District Ranger]

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan