Residents of a small town in Utah are still angry at the Interior Department over one of the largest Indian artifact theft cases in history.

Of the 24 people indicted for stealing and selling artifacts from public and Indian land, 16 are from Blanding. Of of them, James Redd, the town's physician, committed suicide after he was arrested and his home was raided last Wednesday.

"Eighteen vehicles surrounded the Redds' house," San Juan County Supervisor Bruce Adams told The Los Angeles Times. "Do we do that with child molesters? With murderers?" He added, "I haven't seen a piece of pottery or an artifact that's worth a human life."

Brett Tolman, the U.S. Attorney for Utah, defended the way the arrests were carried out. He said authorities found so many artifacts at the Redd home that it took them 10 hours to catalog all of them.

Get the Story:
Utah town's anger mounts over artifact arrests (The Los Angeles Times 6/17)
Mourners remember Redd's love of community, family (The Salt Lake Tribune 6/17)
Affidavits describe vast American Indian artifacts stash (The Salt Lake Tribune 6/17)
Utah senators want review of artifact raid (The Salt Lake City Deseret News 6/17)

Relevant Documents:
DOI Press Release: Federal Agents Bust Ring of Antiquity Thieves Looting American Indian Sites for Priceless Treasures | DOJ Press Release: Arrests Made in Operation Targeting Network Selling Stolen Native American Artifacts | Remarks of Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden at a Press Conference

Related Stories:
Utah GOP upset with Indian artifact theft case (6/15)
Tribes support prosecution of artifact theft case (6/12)
Defendant in DOI artifact theft case found dead (6/12)
Two dozen indicted for theft of Indian artifacts (6/11)
Salazar, EchoHawk in Utah for press conference (6/10)