US Collector case coming to Court

Lone Pine relic hunterNorman Starks, 76, with a framed

collection of arrowheads at his Lone Pine home. (Don Kelson/ Los Angeles Times)

 

'California Man Indicted For Taking Archaeological Artifacts From Public Lands In Inyo County' , 20 February 2015

 Norman Starks, 76, a resident of Lone Pine, California, has been charged with unauthorized removal of archaeological resources, depredation of government property, and possession of stolen government property.

According to court documents, the defendant damaged, altered, and removed Native American archaeological resources without authorization, from federal lands. These included Native American burial cairns and other cultural artifacts, such as beads and fragments of ceramic pots, which were more than 100 years old. The artifacts were located in the Lone Pine area of Inyo County on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. In addition, the indictment charges the defendant with possessing stolen property that included prehistoric Native American incised stone tablets, which had been taken from government lands. [...]  If convicted of theft of stolen government property or depredation of government property, Starks faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in prison and a $100,000 fine. For each count of removal of archaeological resources, Starks faces a maximum statutory penalty of two years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

This is a followup to earlier reports:
'Looting Them and US', PACHI Thursday, 1 November 2012
'Eastern California Collector Raided', PACHI Thursday, 24 July 2014