Missouri man accused of illegally excavating protected Native American site: indictment
A 70-year-old man is accused of illegally excavating items of archaeological value from a prehistoric Native American site near Tightwad, Missouri.
Johnny Lee Brown, of Clinton, faces charges of conspiracy, illegal excavation of resources and injury to government property. A federal grand jury convened in April in the Western District of Missouri returned an 11-count indictment against Brown, which was made public following his arrest Tuesday.
Court records did not say whether an attorney is representing him in the case.
According to the indictment, Brown is accused of taking things from protected U.S. lands over the past five years. Called the Tightwad site, for its proximity to the Henry County town, the area is described in court papers as a prehistoric Native American site that dates back 5,000 years.
Brown allegedly entered the site on an “unauthorized access trail” and, using shovels, buckets and backpacks, removed “archaeological resources” from the site over a five-year period. He allegedly caused an estimated $300,000 in damage to a large area of land, beginning around June 2016, the indictment says.
“Furthermore, according to the Osage Nation, the excavation damage to this archaeological site caused by this conspiracy greatly impacts the cultural history of the Osage Nation, and other affiliated tribes,” the indictment says.
Authorities relied on two other conspirators participating as state witnesses as they built a case against Brown, the indictment says.
Court records did not disclose exactly what Brown is accused of taking. Items protected under the Archeological Resources Protection Act, which Brown is accused of violating, must be at least 100 years old and can include pottery, weapons and tools.
The indictment names 10 occasions where Brown and others are accused of visiting the area to excavate illegally.
Under federal law, Brown faces up to 5 years in prison for the conspiracy charge; two years for each of the five illegal excavation charges; and 10 years on each of the five charges of injury to government property.
