TANEY COUNTY, Mo. — Two men from Petaluma, California, are facing felony charges after authorities say they damaged a woolly mammoth fossil worth about $200,000 while trying to hang from the exhibit at Top of the Rock in Taney County.
According to court documents, Brett Howard, born in 1979, and Todd Azevedo, born in 1977, are each charged with first-degree property damage, a Class E felony, in connection with the incident late Sunday, March 8.
The probable cause statement says Azevedo waved Howard over and encouraged him to grab the tusk of the woolly mammoth fossil on display. Azevedo then lifted Howard onto his shoulders, giving him enough height to reach the tusk, the statement alleges.
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Once Howard grabbed the tusk, he allegedly tried to hang from it, causing it to break free and fall to the floor, where it shattered into multiple pieces…