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Environmental News
Joe Hernandez, NPR

2 men are charged with toppling ancient rock formations at Lake Mead trail

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An image provided by the National Park Service shows two men who were caught on video in April toppling rock formations at Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
An image provided by the National Park Service shows two men who were caught on video in April toppling rock formations at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. A federal jury has indicted Wyatt Clifford Fain, 37, and Payden David Guy Cosper, 31, of Henderson, Nev.
Screenshot by National Park Service

A federal grand jury in Nevada has indicted two men who allegedly toppled ancient red rock formations in Lake Mead National Recreation Area earlier this year.

Wyatt Clifford Fain, 37, and Payden David Guy Cosper, 31, each face one count of injury and depredation of government property and one count of aiding and abetting.

The Justice Department says the pair, both Henderson, Nev., residents, pushed the rocks off a cliff, sending them clattering to the ground, along the Redstone Dunes Trail on April 7.

The Federal Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Fain, said it does not comment on pending cases. An attorney listed for Cosper did not immediately reply to NPR’s request for comment.

The incident, which was caught on video and subsequently shared on social media, caused more than $1,000 worth of damage, federal prosecutors said.

According to the National Park Service, the area’s reddish, sandstone landscape was formed from desert dunes that existed 140 million years ago.

A spokesperson for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area said Wednesday that the park had no comment on the case or upcoming trial and deferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada for more information.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area spokesperson John Haynes told FOX5 Vegas in April that the incident was “appalling” and “disgusting.”

Fain and Cosper were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and made their first court appearance in federal court in Nevada on Friday, where they both pleaded not guilty, according to the court docket. A trial date has been set for Oct. 8.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Copyright 2024, NPR