Island Guide Indicted on Felony Grave-Robbing Charge

A Santa Cruz Island hunting guide was indicted Friday on a charge of felony grave robbing, but a Santa Barbara County grand jury brought no charges against an island hunting concessionaire whose camps were raided by park rangers in commando style last month.

After a week of testimony, the grand jury charged Brian Krantz, 33, with taking human remains from a Chumash grave on the island and indicted him on five misdemeanor charges, including destroying an archeological site.

The grand jury also indicted Krantz on misdemeanors that included guiding without a license and shooting at protected ravens, including one that he allegedly killed.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Darryl Perlin confirmed the indictments, but refused further comment. National Park Service officials could not be reached for comment late Friday.

But Steve Balash, attorney for Krantz, said the government tried desperately to return at least one felony to justify the amount of force used in the hunting-camp assaults Jan. 14.

“If they didn’t get it, the whole thing would have looked pretty silly,” Balash said. “But this is stretching it. At first they were talking about grave robbing, but now they’re making it a felony because Brian picked up a bone and looked at it.”

Authorities have said Krantz dug up a Chumash grave with his bare hands, offered bone souvenirs to federal agents posing as wealthy hunters and told the officers to keep quiet because grave digging was a serious offense.

Krantz’s arraignment is set for Thursday and he will plead not guilty, Balash said. Two other hunting-camp workers arrested in the same raids were charged previously with guiding and serving food without a license, both misdemeanors.

Perlin would not say Friday whether prosecutors are still investigating possible charges against hunting concessionaire Jaret Owens, whose Ojai home was searched by federal agents and who the National Park Service and Perlin have identified as a suspect in the case.

“I have no comment about Jaret Owens at this point,” Perlin said. “I will have no further comment until I’ve had further opportunity to review this case.”

Since the Jan. 14 raid by 20 heavily armed federal and local officers who descended from a Blackhawk helicopter at Smugglers’ and Scorpion ranches on east Santa Cruz, Owens has said that federal officials were trying to put together any case they could to justify the government’s use of force at the camps.

Owens said Friday that he doesn’t think the investigation is over.

“I think they’re trying extremely hard to justify this raid,” Owens said. “And I don’t think they’ll let me off that easy. I think they’re still digging.”

In an affidavit supporting the raid, park ranger Todd Swain maintained that Krantz took him to a Chumash burial ground in October on one of three undercover trips to the rugged island 20 miles off the Ventura coast.

“He removed what appeared to be human bones,” Swain said. And in a secret tape recording of Krantz’s comment, the suspect allegedly said: “This could be a burial ground. Once you get into it--it could be body after body.”