[MSN] Man pled guilty in January to transporting stolen historic Native American memorabilia

[MSN]

Crook resident gets 29 months for artifact theft
Man pled guilty in January to transporting stolen historic Native American memorabilia

By Stacie Miller
Journal-Advocate staff writer
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 3:12 PM MDT

STERLING — A 45-year-old Crook resident was sentenced to 29 months in federal prison for illegally transporting more than $200,000 in of stolen Native American artifacts from historic sites in Arizona and Nebraska to Colorado last summer.

Gary Garihan was also sentenced to 29 months in prison Tuesday for possession of more than eight ounces of marijuana, a term that will be served concurrently with the federal sentence. Garihan will report to prison authorities May 5 at noon.

Garihan and his brother, Maxwell Garihan, 51, were indicted by a federal grand jury Aug. 9, 2007, for illegally transporting to Colorado about $120,000 in artifacts from the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Harrison, Neb., and approximately $80,000 worth of artifacts from Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Ariz.

Hubbell Trading Post reported the Navajo rugs missing in May 2007 after a sledgehammer was used to break into the facility. On July 10, maintenance workers at the Agate Fossil Beds discovered the visitor center had been burglarized, and items, including moccasins, war clubs and a pistol, were stolen.

According to the arrest affidavit, one of the brothers sold the rugs to a Denver dealer who did not realize the items were stolen, and attempted to sell more to a Wheat Ridge dealer. All of the stolen artifacts were recovered and undamaged, according to the National Park Service.

The brothers were arrested at Jumbo Reservoir on July 14 after a Colorado Division of Wildlife officer checked one of the men’s fishing licenses and found he had a warrant.

A search of Gary Garihan’s residence in the 200 block of Fifth Street in Crook the next day found 28 marijuana plants being grown by an artificial light in a bedroom. Federal agents declined to press marijuana charges against the brothers, so Gary Garihan was charged through the 13th District Court.

Garihan faced up to 10 years in prison on each federal count, but pled guilty under the tentative agreement that he would receive no more than three years. On Tuesday, District Judge Michael Singer hinted he would have sentenced Garihan to more than 29 months in prison for the federal charges, but agreed to the concurrent term for the marijuana plea.

http://www.journal-advocate.com