Man sentenced in Albany for digging, selling arrowheads

ALBANY — A man charged with illegal excavation and selling of arrowheads and other Native American artifacts was given a 20-year sentence in Dougherty County Superior Court Friday, with the first three years to be served in prison.

Eddie Lee Ballard, 37 at the time of his indictment, pleaded guilty to 45 counts of criminal trespass, interference with archaeological sites, obstruction and theft by taking in connection with the digging of artifacts on land belonging to Georgia Power Co. and Flint Rock Properties.

According to The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which filed the warrant application against Ballard, DNR rangers witnessed the defendant digging for artifacts several times between March 22, 2011, and his arrest last June.

Ballard was jailed on $58,000 bond following a year-long investigation by the DNR into what officials called a huge operation to excavate valuable Native American artifacts on private and state property and sell them for thousands of dollars.

According to Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards, Ballard remained in the Dougherty County jail from the time of his arrest until his sentencing on Friday.

Edwards said that because of the non-violent nature of the crime, Ballard would most likely be eligible for parole in a relatively short period of time. Ballard was given prison credit for time served but must also pay a $20,000 fine, Edwards said.

“He got off pretty light, relative to the millions of dollars in damage he caused to the environment and the hundreds of thousands of dollars he made selling artifacts online,” Edwards said.

Officials said that actual YouTube videos Ballard made of himself digging the artifacts played a big part in making a case against the defendant.

“The videos were used to promote the sale of the illegal arrowheads,” Edwards said,”It advertised his products and helped increase their value.”