Friday, Jun 23, 2006
On June 15th, a federal grand jury in Pecos, Texas, returned a three count indictment against Kirby Amlee, 35, of Robbins, North Carolina (formerly of Terlingua, Texas), and Joey Priddy, 45, of Carthage, North Carolina, for violations of stealing United States property, transporting ammunition by prohibited persons, and transportation of stolen goods. The indictment stems from a rash of burglaries that occurred at Fort Davis NHS, the Hallie Stillwell Museum and Lajitas International Airport – all in Texas – this past April. The burglaries began early on the morning of April 11th at the Stillwell Museum, where thieves stole a .38 caliber revolver with holster, an 1895 Winchester 30.06 rifle, a double barrel shotgun, two bandoliers, a box of .38 caliber ammunition, numerous Indian arrowheads, a knife with bone handle in a sheath, a tomahawk, a small wooden butter mold and money from the museum’s donation box. The next burglary occurred during the early morning hours of April 12th at the Fort Davis museum. Entry into the museum was made by smashing the transom over the back door. Several glass displays were broken into and the thieves took a Thurber and Allen bar hammer percussion pistol, a Colt Model 1849 revolver, a Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver, a Colt Model 1860 Army revolver, a Colt Model 1873 SAA revolver, a Colt SAA, a U.S. Model 1842 percussion pistol, a Bowie knife and cash from a donation box. The last burglary occurred on the early morning hours of April 17th at the Lajitas International Airport. A 42-inch Gateway plasma television, two boxes of medals, a “Mexican Border Service” banner, a grey and black bag, several shirts with the “Lajitas Resort” emblem, and a quantity of Tylenol and No-Doze pills were stolen. The investigation was spearheaded by special agents from the NPS from El Paso, Texas, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, and Denver, Colorado, with assistance of personnel at Fort Davis and Big Bend. The investigation was coordinated with the great cooperation and assistance of the Brewster County Sheriff’s Office and Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office in Texas, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office in Carthage, North Carolina, the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office in Stuart, Virginia, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Presidio, Texas. The double barrel shotgun and the two bandoliers were recovered on June 7th in Lajitas by the Brewster County sheriff and an NPS special agent. The remaining property, except for the money, was retrieved on June 6th in Robbins, North Carolina. The weapons stolen from the Fort Davis are being undergoing restoration at Springfield Armory and will be returned to the Fort Davis museum shortly. Each count of the indictment carries with it a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a $250,000 fine, three years supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. A warrant for the arrest of Amlee has been issued. Priddy is currently detained at the Patrick County Jail in Stuart, Virginia, on unrelated charges. A writ will be issued to bring Priddy to the federal courthouse in Pecos, Texas, to face the charges. All cases will be prosecuted federally. The defendants will likely be arraigned on June 27th; the trial date is tentatively set for August 21st. NPS special agent David Sandbakken continues as the case agent.
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