A Lewiston man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally digging for Indian artifacts along the Clearwater River, following his guilty plea earlier this year.
Rex C. Davis II, 38, was sentenced Friday at Moscow by U.S. Magistrate Stephen M. Ayers of Coeur d'Alene to a year's probation and 150 hours of community service and fined about $1,100.
Davis pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court to the federal misdemeanor of knowingly digging, altering and damaging archaeological sites along the Clearwater River between July 1 and Nov. 28, 1988.
The crime could draw maximum penalties of up to a year in jail, a $10,000 fine or both.
The sentencing drew qualified praise Monday from Allen V. Pinkham, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee.
''It's going in the right direction, anyway,'' Pinkham said. ''At least it's looking a little better.'' Tribal leaders had protested what they felt was a li