GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP)
The district attorney said he will use fines and jail-time to press a Grants Pass insurance agent convicted of looting ancient Indian graves to return two missing skulls to the Paiute Indians."The most important thing for us is the repatriation of the remains to the Northern Paiutes," District Attorney Tim Thompson said.
A Josephine county Circuit Court jury on Wednesday convicted Jack Harelson; 55, on charges of theft, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and unrelated counts of possession of a video poker machine and a slot machine.
The crimes carry a potential penalty of 23 years in prison, but defense lawyer Mark Hendershott said he expected any sentence to be less than a year in the county jail under state guidelines.
No sentencing date was set. Thompson asked for a hearing to set the amount of restitution.
According to testimony, the investigation began when Harelson had a failing out with partners in an opal mine and they informed authorities he had excavated a cave on federal land in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.
Vern Jordan
email: vjordan@bmi.net
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