Man sentenced for removing petroglyph from federal land

Friday, April 15, 2011  

A man has been sentenced to six months in prison and one year of supervised release for removing a petroglyph from the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area in Nevada.

Michael Cook, 58, pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. He admitted that he removed a 300-plus-pound boulder that contained a petroglyph from a site sacred to the Paiute people.

Cook had placed the boulder in his yard as decoration.

Get the Story:
Petroglyph thief gets 6-month prison term (The Las Vegas Review-Journal 4/15)
Man who took home 300-pound boulder with petroglyph gets 6 months (The Las Vegas Sun 4/14)