Texas Parks & Wildlife News In the November 1, 1999 issue:
TRIO
PLEAD GUILTY TO PILFERING ARTIFACTS AT LAKE PAT MAYSE
SHERMAN,
Texas--Three North Texas men entered guilty pleas to taking archaeological
artifacts from federal lands- following an investigation by Texas Parks and
Wildlife (TPW), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), and the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service. Thirty-three-year-old Gary D. Priesing, 44-year-old
Alvis D. Rattan, and 40-year-old Wayne J. Shults entered their pleas before
U.S. Magistrate Jude Robert Faulkner on Oct. 28. Lamar County Game Warden
Darla Barr and Corps park rangers conducted 10 hours of videotape
surveillance of the three men taking Native American artifacts from an island
on Lake Pat Mayse, near the Oklahoma border. The island is part of the Pat
Mayse Wildlife Management Area owned by the United States and jointly
operated by TPW and the Corps. According to court documents, Priesing, Rattan
and Shults were arrested on Aug. 14 while at Lake Pat Mayse. The offenders
were searching for American Indian arrowheads and other artifacts buried
beneath the lake. The three men spent several hours excavating around an
island. In waist-deep water, the three used an outboard boat motor to disturb
and dredge the mud of the lake floor. Priesing, Rattan and Shults
excavated about 6-14 inches of mud in various locations and removed numerous
American Indian arrowhead points and pottery shards exposed during the
dredging, the court documents said. Law enforcement officials apprehended
the men at the boat ramp. The Caddo Indian artifacts are 700-1,300 years old
with an estimated commercial value of $940. Priesing, from Dallas, Rattan
from Bedford, and Shults from Keller, pleaded guilty to violations of the
Archaeological Resources Protection Act. Congress passed this law in 1979 to
prevent the unauthorized excavation or removal of archaeological resources on
federal or Native American lands. Each man could face up to a year in prison
and a maximum fine of $100,000. No sentencing date has been set. As part of
the plea agreement, the defendants turned over more than 300 artifacts that
had been taken from Lake Pat Mayse and Lake Proctor. Priesing forfeited to
the government the boat, motor and trailer used to commit the
offense. Archeological sites that are in, on or under the surface of any
land belonging to the State of Texas are state archeological landmarks
protected by law. It is illegal to disturb any objects, buildings, artifacts
or implements in the sites. The penalty for removing or
disturbing archeological objects on state land is punishable by a fine of no
more $1,000 and/or 30 days in jail, Barr explained. "Be aware that major
reservoirs and any other kind of public land in Texas (state or federal) are
protected under antiquities laws," said Barr. "Relic hunting on these
properties is illegal."