It’s been a long time coming, but justice may yet be served. We reported a year ago that two vandals were being sought by Lake Mead National Recreation Area park rangers. It all started with a video of the two clowns tipping over an ancient natural rock formation. Months later two men were identified and indicted. Now they’ve been convicted, and will soon face the music. Is it justice for nature?
Redstone Dune Trail destruction could lead to justice for nature
On April 9, a federal jury convicted Wyatt Clifford Fain and Payden David Guy Cosper, both of Henderson, Nevada. A two-day trial ended with each found guilty of one count of injury and depredation of government property. The jury found they had indeed pushed ancient rock formations over a cliff onto the ground below while on or near the Redstone Dunes Trail.
The men had argued that there were no signs or other indicators that pushing over rocks was unlawful. That didn’t carry enough weight with those on the jury panel. Come July 7, 2025, a federal judge will decide their fate. They each face a maximum penalty of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both.
Both the U.S. Attorney’s office and the National Park Service ask, if you see something suspicious or if you have information that could help an investigation, call the National Park Service Tip Line at 1-888-653-0009 or submit a tip online to nps_isb@nps.gov.
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Yeah–I love that defense about there being no signs to say “don’t do stupid thing A or stupid thing B.” I heard that many, many times when we owned a campground, which is how guests ended up with an arm’s length list of “dos” and “don’ts” when they checked in–and still some yahoo would find a way to do something dumb or destructive that wasn’t on the list and use that as his defense. Sheesh.
They both deserve the maximum prison sentence and fine.
Plus, banned from both State and National parks for life.
Maybe if this happens, others will learn respect our national treasures.
Thank you for the follow-up article. Please let us know what their sentence is. I’m hoping for the maximum penalty.
Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law. Once they are convicted put their faces on the national news. Time to send a message. Now we need to catch all the criminals spraying graffiti all over the place and make it a felony instead of a misdemeanor and that they get a minimum of a year in jail. No excuses.
Thank you for the follow-up, Russ and Tina! I am entirely unfamiar with the park or the trail, so I have no thought as to the severity of the potential penalty. At the very least, I wonder how dangerous a situation is created by pushing rocks (boulders?) over a cliff onto the ground below? Further, how did they find their behavior acceptable, if not amusing? Have a great weekend and safe travels!