I hunt a piece of propety in Colbert County that has a black dirt Indian Mound on it. It seems to be a favorite place for grave robbers to come and dig up the Native Americans and their possessions. I have posted on here several threads about catching folks digging and calling the Sheriifs Department to them. I went to the woods yesterday evening and as I walked into the field there were two digging in the corner hiding in some 6' canes to conceal them. I walked up to them and my first words to them were "I have been waiting a while to meet you". Their reply was "this is the first time I have ever been here". One of individauls digs here at night alot and I was fortunate enough this time to catch him as he was getting started for the evening dig. He usually hides his tools to dig with and when I find them, they come home with me-at least the good ones do. I usually break, or throw the other junk tools in the creek. This time he had two old rakes and a shovel point that I had seen but not discarded so I knew this was a repeat digger.

I told them to come on out and I called 911 immediately. One of the men eased apart from us and he ran off leaving all his belongings behind that he had. Billfold, ID, car keys, etc were in his backpack as wll as all kind of night lights, batteries, food and snacks for a night time dig. I simply was not going to kill a man for trespassing even though I cant stand a thief and he got away-I did not know all his ID was in his backpack at the time. The other digger had a bad hip and he couldnt do much moving. As I had dispatch on the line I told them the situation and I had her on speaker phone while that digger was running off with me telling him to come back. I told her I had one at gunpoint and she said help is on the way. The one with the bad hip walked out with me and 911 made me stay on the phone with her as we walked toward the road. In less than 5 minutes time there were 3 Sheriffs car at the entrance to the property becasue one of the officers is a friend of mine and heard my name-He simply came to help make sure I was OK-Thanks Jimbo!

When I turned the digger over to them my friend told me there was really nothing they could do without them having been prior warned about trespassing here. They had not been warned previously and they could not have charges pressed against them this time, but would be arrested on the spot in the future. When released the digger with the bad hip ran down the highway headed back where he came from. The LEO went to where their vehicle was parked and I have no idea what the outcome of that was. I walked back to the mound and gathered their belongings and took them to the local police department along with the ID and turned them over to the police.

It simply seems the thieves and thugs have a ton of ways to stay out of trouble and we as citizens and property owners are at their mercy. Before anyone replies that they would have shot the one that ran off, think about it. Would you really want that on you?

Rant is over. Skinny-let me know what I can do in the future to put a stop to this. If someone will post pictures for me, let me know and I will show the amount of damage done with them digging.

B



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I’ll probably get roasted but it’s the truth. Shooting a man running AWAY from you is murder.

Agree - some things aren't worth killing someone over. You did the best possible under the circumstances.

Nah, that’s common sense

It’s a super power now a days.

Not murder unless you miss his knee and clip the femoral artery bleeding him out. Ask Joe Biden how it’s done.

Is this the kind of place that someone may find a monolithic axe? I saw one for sale one time and when I heard it was real the seller got really quiet about how he came to have it.

Alabama now has a "Purple Paint" law. It's in the outdoor digest. Mark your property lines with purple paint and you can prosecute for criminal trespass on the first offence.

Since I would know his address now I would ride by his house and find out the cars he had . If I saw them again park near where they were digging again the car would have to put on a car hauler when it left . Funny how a car can just catch a fire

I drove T posts at all the survey markers, painted the top 12” purple and painted trees in between purple about s month after I closed on my property.

I’ve always heard digging in a mound was a federal offense.. that should Trump the trespassing charge shouldn’t it?

i thought ALL alabama land is considered posted. i say the warning business is BS. find a way to sue those guys, whether the sheriff does anything or not ...

WTH is a monolithic axe?

I hear what your saying about “purple paint” but good luck getting that prosecution out of the courts.

It's not illegal to dig in a mound on private property till you uncover human remains. That is of course if you own the property or have the proper permission.

It would of be fun to fire a shot in the dirt. That old probably would of soiled himself that was running away.

Ceremonial stone axe that the handle and head are all shaped from one single piece of stone. Very few have ever been found, Moundville, AL being one of the locations.

Hard to believe first timers get a free pass. They should at least receive a Class C misdemeanor citation along with a lifetime Trespass notice.

All land is posted for hunting without permission . Tresspassing has specific requirements