Utahn pleads guilty to vandalizing rock art

Jeremy Shane Craig, 23, pleaded guilty Tuesday to vandalism that damaged a 2,000- to 4,000-year-old rock art panel in Buckhorn Wash, Emery County.

Seventh District Judge Bruce K. Halliday, who accepted the plea, set sentencing for May 17 in Castle Dale.

"The matter's been referred to Adult Probation and Parole to write a pre-sentencing report," said Brent Langston, deputy Emery County attorney.

A warrant remains in effect for Craig's father, Dentist Lee Craig, also charged in the case, he said. The prosecutor is not certain where the older Craig is. "We've heard, I think, a couple of different places," he said.

Asked whether the guilty plea by the younger man resulted from a plea agreement, Langston said, "Nope."

The vandalism was thought to date to about July 19, 2004. Chalk on the sandstone wall near ancient paintings carried the symbols of an eye, a heart, a large letter U and the word "Wendy" — standing for "I love you Wendy."

The panel had been damaged severely in the past. In 1994, local residents and private contributors worked to repair the graffiti and scratches that defaced the ancient pictographs.

According to Constance S. Silver of Preservar Inc., a conservation specialist who was instrumental in restoring the panel in 1994, this time around authorities had asked the public not to try to remove the latest vandalism. But then someone attempted to wash off the chalk and cover part of the panel with mud.

That further damaged the delicate rock surface.

Last August, she repaired the damage, recoloring the raw surface with watercolors and pastels. The work cost $2,500. The treatment will probably last no more than eight to 10 years, she estimated, when the panel will have to be repaired again.

The charge to which Jeremy Shane Craig pleaded guilty is a third-degree felony, violation of the antiquities protection law, carrying a sentence of zero to five years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.

A $1,000 reward had been posted by the Emery County sheriff's office, the Bureau of Land Management and a local group concerned about restoring historic sites, seeking information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who defaced the panel, Emery County Sheriff LaMar Guymon said earlier. The younger Craig was arrested after three people came forward.

Recently, a noted photographer of prehistoric rock art — Salt Lake resident Diane Orr — found a scrawled "eye heart U" that was chalked across another panel with pictographs.

The site is in the San Rafael Reef, also Emery County, 40 miles or so from the Buckhorn panel.

An official contacted by the Deseret Morning News said the damage Orr discovered might have been copycat vandalism.

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E-mail: bau@desnews.com