Mobile County men plead guilty to stealing St. Stephens artifacts
By Evan Carden SA Editor

These are the bricks taken from Hendrix's and Shaw's boat after they were discovered removing them from the site. (Photo by Jim Long)

Two Mobile County men pleaded guilty in a Washington County Court, Monday, Oct. 16, to charges that they removed artifacts from the riverbank at the Old St. Stephens historic town site.

John Veston Hendrix, 67 of Celest Road, Citronelle and Douglas Farley Shaw, 73, of Racine Avenue, Mobile, were served with warrants Sept. 8, charging them with theft of artifacts and third degree criminal trespass.

The warrants were issued after Conservation Enforcement officers Robbie Tillman and John Russell witnessed the two men removing brick from the site. "We had taken an engineer up the river to show him some work that was being planned for the St. Stephens park area," said Tillman. "We saw the two men in their boat in the area when we went upstream and thought they were probably looking for artifacts. When we came back we found that they had approximately 20 bricks in their boat."

Tillman said although a few bricks can be seen protruding from the riverbank, many are hidden in a grassy area, which meant the men had to search for them.

These are some of the bricks that can be seen protruding from the riverbank where the Old St. Stephens town site is located. (Photo by Jim Long)

"All land, whether privately owned or owned by the state or federal government, is posted, according to state law," said Tillman. "Most landowners don't mind people using their portion of the riverbank, but technically they are trespassing. It is also against the law to remove artifacts of any kind from state or federally owned land along the river."

At the time of the incident, both men were allowed to sign a $500 bond and were released by the officers. As a result of their appearance before Washington County District Judge Jerry Turner, Monday, they each received fines of $400, plus court costs, for a total of approximately $600.

St. Stephens Historical Commission Director Jim Long said he was pleased with the outcome of the case. "The conservation officers did great work in realizing what was going on," he said. "This should be a reminder to those traveling up and down the river that historic artifacts are off limits."

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