SIMI VALLEY : Man Charged With Violating BLM Ban
A Simi Valley man has been charged with violating a U.S. Bureau of Land Management order that closed a desert motorcycle race course last fall to protect sensitive desert lands, federal officials said.
The U.S. attorney’s office charged Wesley S. Holmes, 34, of Simi Valley, with violating the BLM’s closure order on Nov. 24, 1990, when he and four others drove their motorcycles onto closed lands to ride the Barstow to Las Vegas Motorcycle Race.
The other men charged are Richard L. Sieman, 51, of Granada Hills; Barry W. Van Dyke, 39, of Agoura Hills; Patrick R. Martin, 38, of Sepulveda, and Lowell Webb, 55, of Soquel.
Federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman said the area was closed from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 to protect the habitat of the endangered desert tortoise.
Each defendant faces a maximum fine of $100,000 and 12 months in prison.
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