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A 44-year-old Blanding man pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court to a felony charge of threatening a witness in the Four Corners antiquities-trafficking case.
A federal grand jury handed up the indictment Wednesday evening against Charles Denton Armstrong. The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
He remains in the Salt Lake County jail after earlier being deemed a threat to the community. Armstrong has a criminal record and ties to a white supremacist gang.
Armstrong allegedly told Blanding resident Jeanne Redd, 59, that he planned to beat an undercover operative in the case. And, according to previous courtroom testimony of Bureau of Land Management Agent Dan Love, Armstrong repeated that threat to federal authorities.
Jeanne Redd already has pleaded guilty to seven charges in the antiquities-trafficking case. Her husband, Blanding physician James Redd, 60, committed suicide June 11, the day after being indicted in the case.
Armstrong was under James Redd's medical care and, according to charging documents, blamed the undercover operative for the doctor's death.
The operative, identified only as the "Source" in court documents, bought and sold more than 250 pre-Columbian Puebloan relics during a 2½ -year period. The sting led to the indictments 25 people, many of whom live in Blanding.
According to court records, Armstrong told Love that "he was going to tie the
Armstrong allegedly told federal agents that his intention was not to kill the undercover operative but he just "wanted to hurt him real bad."
A trial has been scheduled for Sept. 28 in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
