Deals considered as attorneys focus on 'Source' in artifacts case

SALT LAKE CITY — At least half a dozen of the 26 people accused of looting government-protected lands for Native American artifacts may have resolutions to their cases in the coming months, attorneys said in federal court Thursday.

A group of attorneys representing the various defendants convened before U.S. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba to discuss the progress that has, or hasn't, been made in the cases of their clients. Attorneys for Tammy Shumway and Lavern Crites specifically told the judge they expected resolutions in their clients' cases in the coming months.

Twenty-six people were indicted since the initial sting last summer that marked the culmination of a 21/2-year investigation that named several prominent community members from the southern Utah town of Blanding. Those indicted are accused of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act as they either sold or attempted to sell various artifacts believed to have been stolen from public lands that often are believed to be sacred by American Indians.

U.S. Attorney for Utah Richard McKelvie said there were about six cases that have nearly been resolved through plea agreements. It was uncertain how many defendants were planning on taking their cases to trial, as attorneys asked the judge for more time on their cases.

Defense attorney Walter Bugden said "the defense strategy for everyone" will be to discredit the man identified by the FBI as "the Source," who is believed to be a one-time collector and dealer in Indian artifacts, Ted Gardiner. His audio and video recordings make up the bulk of the government's case.

A search warrant from the case says "the Source, acting at the direction of the FBI and BLM, purchased approximately 256 archeological artifacts totaling $335,685." Bugden said attorneys will strive to determine what motivated Gardiner and some will seek to prove their clients were entrapped.

Attorneys already know that "the Source," was paid "a lot of money," Bugden said. Reports are that he received upwards of $200,000 for his services.

Bugden said he anticipates his client, Crites, who is an avid artifacts dealer from Durango, Colo., will not take his case to trial.

Two defendants in the case have committed suicide since being indicted, including Blanding physician James Redd and Steven Shrader, of New Mexico.

"The big picture is that the whole thing's a tragedy," Bugden said. James Redd took his life; Shrader died; I don't know the circumstances, but you have two people taking their life. That's incredibly sad."

Redd's wife and daughter, Jeanne and Jericca Redd, were both sentenced to probation and were ordered to forfeit their collection of artifacts, which totaled more than 800 items. Bugden said that case is by no means a precedent for the other pending cases, as James Redd's death was an "extenuating circumstance."

When Judge Clark Waddoups sentenced the pair, he made reference to the suffering the women had already experienced. He also spoke of the culture of artifact collecting in the Four Corners area, a fact that has made the raid controversial and viewed as excessive in the eyes of locals. That culture, Bugden says, is at the root of these cases.

"What the government is trying to do is change the culture and climate of collecting in southern Utah," he said. "Clearly, the purpose of the prosecution is to change the culture and say, this is not acceptable, it's disrespectful."

Alba said motion hearings would be set within the next two or three weeks on motions currently filed. He scheduled another status conference for March.

Contributing: Associated Press