Ray's attorney argues against $5 million dollar bond in sweat lodge case

CAMP VERDE, Arizona (AP) — Despite heading a multimillion-dollar corporation, motivational speaker James Arthur Ray cannot afford to post $5 million bond in his manslaughter case, according to his attorneys.
Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter stemming from the deaths of three participants who attended a sweat lodge ceremony he led last year. He's been jailed nearly three weeks.
On Tuesday, his attorneys are due in court where they are expected to argue against his $5 million bail, which they say is excessive and oppressive.
Ray's attorneys have said Ray has no criminal history, isn't a threat to public safety or a flight risk and cannot afford the bail. They filed a motion asking that Ray either be released on his own recognizance coupled with the surrender of his passport or have bail set at a minimum.
Ray himself has touted his wealth, estimated at $10 million in 2009, and success in media interviews and on his Web site. But documents obtained by The Associated Press from the court show Ray is severely in debt with a net worth of negative $4.2 million. The documents are now sealed.
Ray's attorneys contend his finances have plummeted because of legal fees and payments to creditors. Ray's business, James Ray International based in Carlsbad, California, and a Beverly Hills mansion he recently put up for sale are not listed among his assets in a statement of net worth.
If convicted of manslaughter, Ray faces up to 12 1/2 years on each count, with probation being an option.
Prosecutors contend Ray recklessly crammed more than 50 participants of his “Spiritual Warrior'' event near Sedona into a 415-square-foot (38.6-square-meter) sweat lodge, a small heated enclosure used in traditional American Indian ceremonies to cleanse the body. Many participants have said Ray chided them for wanting to leave, even as people were vomiting, getting burned by hot rocks and lying unconscious on the ground.
Three people died — Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, New York, James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minnesota. Eighteen others were hospitalized.
Ray's attorneys have called the deaths a tragic accident and said he took all the necessary precautions and immediately tended to the ill.

New Mexico man sentenced for selling nine golden eagle feathers

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Albuquerque man who sold black market eagle feathers for use in Native American dance competitions has been sentenced in Portland.
U.S. District Judge Anna Brown on Thursday sentenced 34-year-old Reginald Dale Akeen to 30 days house arrest, 250 hours of community service and to pay $4,800 in restitution to a conservation fund. Akeen pleaded guilty in December to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Prosecutors say he brokered the sale of nine golden eagle feathers through an intermediary on Oregon's Warm Springs Reservation.
Enrolled members of federally recognized tribes can obtain permits to possess eagle parts for religious purposes, but federal law prohibits the sale of bald and golden eagles or their parts.

Suspects interviewed for ancient tribal pictograph vandalism

LEWISTON (AP) — Law enforcement officials in northern Idaho say they have interviewed people who may be responsible for vandalism to ancient tribal pictographs near Lewiston's Hells Gate State Park.
Alan Johnson is chief deputy for the Nez Perce County Sheriff's Office.
He says investigators plan to conduct more interviews of others who may have taken part in February in spray-painting graffiti on the red pigment pictographs that archaeologists believe are at least 2,500 years old.
Johnson tells the Lewiston Tribune that results of the investigation will be turned over to prosecutors.
Nez Perce County Prosecutor Dan Spickler says the U.S. Attorney's Office will likely handle the case.
Damaging pictographs violates the federal Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, which calls for criminal penalties up to $20,000 and two years in prison.
"It was straight malicious vandalism of a Nez Perce specific site," said Brooklyn Baptiste, vice chairman of the tribe's executive committee. "You can tell someone put some focused effort on destroying it. It's just like vandalizing someone's headstone. It is that level of maliciousness we see."
The graffiti at the Red Elk Rock Shelter includes references to marijuana, with the words "Vote to Toke," and a pot leaf with "Ganga" written below. There are also peace signs, the initials T.C., and the names Freddy B and "Kotton Mouth Kings," a marijuana-themed rap band.
Aaron Miles Sr. is the natural resources director for the tribe, and said a harsh penalty should be given to those responsible to deter future vandalism.
"If it's somehow reduced to where you can't set an example, more people are going to keep doing this," he said.
Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com

Investigator confirms Box Elder house fire claimed one life

HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — A criminal investigator on the Rocky Boy's reservation has confirmed that someone died in a Box Elder house fire over the weekend. Grace Her Many Horses told KOJM radio in Havre that investigators found human remains in the house after the fire was extinguished.
She did not release the person's name or age.
Ruby BigKnife, who lived in the house that was destroyed in the fire early Sunday, said her grandson's friend was killed in the fire. Chouteau County Sheriff Vern Burdick said Monday that he is acting as coroner on the fire, but he referred all questions to Her Many Horses.