A pair of Colorado residents have been fined, given probation and briefly banned from Utah’s public lands after pleading guilty to expenses tied to a theft and disruption incident at an archeological website at Canyonlands Nationwide Park final 12 months.
Roxanne McKnight, 39, and Dusty Spencer, 43, of Durango, Colorado, pleaded responsible in U.S. District Courtroom to expenses of possessing or disturbing cultural or archaeological sources, in addition to strolling on or coming into archeological or cultural sources — all misdemeanor offenses, the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace stated on Friday.
A decide sentenced McKnight to at least one 12 months of probation whereas banning her from coming into any public lands in Utah for one 12 months. The decide gave Spencer a two-year ban from Utah public lands, together with two years of probation. Each have been additionally ordered to pay fines and restitution charges totaling $1,500.
The 2 have been charged in November 2024, months after Canyonlands Nationwide Park officers reported two individuals had illegally entered the Cave Spring Cowboy Camp on the park’s Cave Spring Path. On March 23, 2024, a Nationwide Park Service path digicam positioned outdoors the location captured a person and a girl coming into a fenced-off space earlier than dealing with “quite a few historic artifacts” from the location, in keeping with federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors added that vintage nails have been additionally taken from the location.
Cave Spring Cowboy Camp options a mixture of historic and prehistoric artifacts, in keeping with the Nationwide Park Service. It options varied “unique” artifacts from camps arrange by pioneer cattlemen between the late 1800s by way of 1975 when cattle ranching stopped on the park.
The positioning additionally contains many prehistoric artifacts, together with rock markings from Indigenous tribes who lived 6,000 to 700 years in the past. Prosecutors stated there are “clear warnings prohibiting guests from coming into the realm” on the website.
Source link