Despite the death of a key witness, a federal judge Monday set trial dates for eight defendants accused of multiple felonies in the 2 1/2-year artifacts-trafficking probe that spanned public and tribal lands in the Four Corners region.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba denied a defense attorney's motion for more information about the undercover operative known as "the Source" after Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard McKelvie said prosecutors never took testimony from the Source under oath, so there wouldn't have been grounds for cross-examination.

Authorities would not name the operative during or after the hearing, but the Source was Ted Gardiner, 52, a Salt Lake County resident who volunteered in 2006 to go undercover for the FBI. Gardiner died a week ago from a gunshot police say was self-inflicted. The shooting remains under investigation.

Gardiner used a hidden audiovisual recorder to document transactions in which he bought and sold artifacts that court papers say were obtained illegally from public and tribal lands. Court documents also say transactions were observed by other law-enforcement investigators.

While the operative's death means prosecutors will change the manner in which they present evidence during trials, McKelvie said, "it ought to be obvious to anyone" the taped evidence would remain at the center of the cases.

"The Source is no longer available," McKelvie said after the hearing. "We still have to lay foundation for [the evidence's] authenticity and reliability."

But that wouldn't break new legal ground, he said.

Acting U.S. Attorney for Utah Carlie Christensen said she anticipated more motions to suppress the recorded evidence.

U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart last week ordered a March 25 hearing on Blanding defendant Brandon Laws' motion to toss the taped evidence.

Indicted on two felony counts for alleged theft of tribal property and violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, Laws claims the confidential source broke Utah law by conducting surveillance without his knowledge at the home of Blanding resident Joseph M. Smith in 2008.

Federal authorities responded that such surveillance, under Utah and federal law, is legal as long as one person is aware of the recording, and that the suspect had been caught in the act of committing a crime.

Authorities have given defense attorneys the tapes, the terms-of-service contract the FBI signed with Gardiner, a nondisclosure agreement and Gardiner's background check. His criminal record consists of a 2005 arrest for driving under the influence that was reduced to reckless driving.

If there were more evidence, defense attorney Scott Williamson said, he and other attorneys want to see it.

"Obviously now we can't cross-examine" Gardiner, he said.

Two of the suspects -- Blanding physician James Redd and Santa Fe, N.M., resident Steven Shrader -- committed suicide within a week of their arrests. Two others -- Redd's wife, Jeanne Redd, and daughter Jericca Redd -- reached plea deals that resulted in probation sentences and the forfeiture of more than 800 relics.

Another Blanding resident, Charles Denton Armstrong, was sentenced to prison for threatening to beat up Gardiner.

Alba scheduled six Utah trials for eight defendants to begin May 3, with the last of the six scheduled for a June 7 start. Alba also ordered defense attorneys to file further motions by April 2 so he can schedule the rest of the trials.

A trial for a Colorado suspect is scheduled for July 6 in Denver.

phenetz@sltrib.com