Grave-robbing scumbag may finally do time

Federal authorities charged Grants Pass grave robber Jack Lee Harelson on Friday with unlawful possession of firearms and arranging for someone to loot hundreds of artifacts from Native American cultural sites in Oregon and Nevada.

Investigators hope two skulls seized in the investigation may clear up a mystery that has dogged them since they dug up two headless mummies in Harelson's back yard seven years ago.

The federal charges came a day after state authorities accused the 62-year-old artifacts dealer of soliciting the murder of five people. Three of his targets -- an ex-wife, a detective and a judge -- helped convict him in 1996 of stealing relics and the mummified remains of two Native American children from a cave in Nevada.

Posted by David on January 18, 2003 5:14 PM