Three men have been booked on suspicion of stealing artifacts from a Native American burial ground in the Santa Monica Mountains in Ventura County, authorities said Thursday.
The case began March 1 about 9:45 p.m. when the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department received a call about lights flashing from the burial site. Deputies found three men with flashlights who were excavating artifacts, authorities said.
Additional artifacts were allegedly found when investigators searched the homes of the three men, according to the department.
The department said the case was turned over to prosecutors Thursday and identified the three men as Noah Erickson, 22, John Watson, 37, and Frederick Villela, 40.
The three face misdemeanor and felony charges for allegedly conducting excavations on Indian burial sites, the department said.
— Robert J. Lopez