OREGON MAN CONVICTED OF TRAFFICKING INDIAN ARTIFACTS
Michael King Julian Hammer, 50, of Jacksonville, Oregon, was
sentenced on September 26 after pleading guilty to two
felony counts of selling artifacts taken from federal lands
in southeast Utah. Hammer was arrested after he sold the
items to undercover agents from the Bureau of Land
Management.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael R. Hogan suspended the
jail time and sentenced Hammer to 30 months probation and a
$1,500 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Kent also
negotiated a plea agreement in which Hammer would forfeit to
the U.S. government Native American artifacts and human
remains found in his home during the execution of a search
warrant. The remains will be repatriated to the affiliated
tribe.
A rare beaver tail rattle that Hammer sold to the agents was
traced to a site on BLM land in San Juan County, Utah. The
investigation also led to the recovery of significant
Anasazi artifacts that Hammer took from federal land and
sold to a museum in Los Angeles.
The BLM encourages citizens to report all archeological
violations on public lands in Oregon and Washington State by
calling 1-800-333-SAVE (7283).