LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Two Pitkin men were sentenced to three years probation in federal court for excavating Native American artifacts from the Kisatchie National Forest over the course of several months in 2017 and 2018.
Tony Fee, 49, and James Carroll, 35, both of Pitkin, will also have to pay $5,676.56 in restitution, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook. Fee and Carroll will also be banned from entering the forest during their probationary period. The pair were sentenced by U.S. District Judge James D. Cain today.
Van Hook said Fee and Carroll conducted unauthorized excavation in the forest from Oct. 2017 to June 2018. Neither had the proper permits for the site, which was designated by the U.S. government as a known archeological site. The pair uncovered various artifacts, including arrowheads and some chips of Native American tools or utensils.