Motion in southern Utah Indian artifacts theft case denied

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge on Tuesday denied a San Juan County man's motion to dismiss two counts of unlawfully selling American Indian artifacts.

Loran St. Claire, 48, faces three charges stemming from a large-scale federal sting last year on trafficking relics in the Four Corners area. St. Claire is accused of selling two seed jars to a federal informant.

An attorney for St. Claire argued Friday that two of those counts should be dismissed because they arose from a single transaction and essentially amounted to double jeopardy.

U.S. District Judge Dee Benson denied the motion.

— Aaron Falk