Federal charges have been filed against a Blanding man who authorities believe planned to beat a confidential informant who had helped federal investigators in a 2-1/2 year, archeological-artifacts-theft probe.

Charles Denton Armstrong, 44, was charged in U.S. District Court with retaliating against an informant, a crime that carries with it the possibility of up to 20 years in prison.

The charges were filed by the U.S. District Attorney's office, after Armstrong was arrested Saturday.

Armstrong made his initial appearance Monday in federal court, where prosecutors asked that he remain in federal custody. During the hearing, a public defender was appointed for Armstrong, who will stay in custody pending a detention hearing Wednesday.

The charges say that the informant, referred to as "the source" in the complaint, entered into an agreement with the FBI in March 2007. During his time aiding the FBI, the source helped purchase approximately 256 artifacts, and in most cases, obtained audio and/or video evidence of the illegal transactions.

On July 2, another confidential witness in the case was contacted by Armstrong, who was a former patient of Dr. James Redd, one of 25 people arrested and charged in connection with the investigation. Armstrong told the witness that he knew the name of the source and that he was going "to take care of him," the charges state.

Redd, 60, committed suicide the day after making his initial appearance in court following the raid in the Four Corners area. Redd and his wife, Jeanne, had faced similar charges before. In 1996, they were charged with desecrating a human body and trespassing on public lands after a sheriff's deputy saw them digging at an Indian burial site. Jeanne Redd later pleaded no contest to a reduced charge, and the charges against James Redd were dropped. In 2003, the couple agreed to pay the state a $10,000 to settle a $250,000 civil lawsuit over the matter that had been brought against them by the Utah School and Institutional Lands Administration.ccording to the charges filed against Armstrong, he told the witness that he blamed the source for James Redd's death.

During an interview with investigators, Armstrong told them that he "was going to tie the source to a tree and beat him with a stick," the charges state. Armstrong later allegedly told investigators that the stick was really a baseball bat.

Armstrong said his intent was not to kill the source, but to "hurt him real bad," the charges state. He also said that he was going to make the source pay and that it was a good idea for the source to stay out of Blanding, according to the charges.