April 22, 2002

By Aspen C. Emmett
Cortez Journal

Two Montezuma County residents accused of disturbing an ancestral Puebloan burial site on national forest land near McPhee Reservoir have decided to dispute the charges brought by a federal grand jury last month.

Fifty-two-year-old Danny Keith Rose, of Dolores, and Tammy Woosley, 41, of Cortez, pleaded innocent in U.S. District Court in Durango on Thursday.

On March 12, Rose and Woosley were indicted on felony charges for violating the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 and destruction of government property, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Rose and Woosley were initially cited for petty offenses after a Bureau of Land Management law-enforcement officer said he caught them digging up an archeological site and uncovering ancestral Puebloan remains and artifacts in October 2000.

However, the lesser charges were dropped in February of 2001, and after further investigation, felony charges were brought up more than a year later.

According to court documents, Rose and Woosley were observed with "shovels in hand digging in an archeological site ... and had partially excavated a burial containing human remains."

Rose reportedly admitted that he had dug at the site, and Woosley admitted that she had "moved some dirt." Woosley also turned over an object that was taken from the site, court papers said.

Rehabilitation for the site exceeded $500.

"We must respect the ancestral and religious customs of all citizens," said U.S. Attorney John Suthers in the news release. "Those who unlawfully hunt for artifacts on public land must realize there will be consequences."

The case will now be heard at the state level before U.S. District Judge Edward W. Nottingham in Denver.

The case was jointly investigated by law enforcement personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the BLM. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kennedy.

If found guilty, Rose and Woosley face a maximum of two years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for the Archeological Resources Protection Act violation and 10 years imprisonment and $250,000 fine for damaging government property.