Posted on Aug 28, 2018
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On this day in 2006, Warren Jeffs, the leader of a polygamist sect of Mormons, is arrested by a highway patrol officer during a traffic stop in Nevada. At the time of his arrest, Jeffs was facing charges in Arizona and Utah of arranging marriages between men and underage girls. The 50-year-old self-proclaimed prophet had been on the run from the law for more than a year and was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. After his father’s death in 2002, Jeffs assumed leadership of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a group that practices polygamy. The group, which is estimated to have around 10,000 members, a number of them based in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, is a radical breakaway sect of the mainstream Mormon church, which banned polygamy in 1890. In September 2007, a jury in Utah convicted Jeffs on two counts of first-degree felony rape as an accomplice for his part in arranging the marriage of a 14-year-old girl to her 19-year-old first cousin. At trial, the girl testified she was forced to wed her cousin, and then forced to have sex with him against her will. When she asked Jeffs to release her from the union, he reportedly instructed her to submit to her husband, “mind, body and soul.†A Utah judge later sentenced Jeffs to two consecutive terms of five years to life in state prison.
In 2008, state authorities raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, a compound Jeffs founded for his followers in 2004. Acting on a series of tips, Texas officials removed over 400 children from the compound on suspicions they were being abused. The children spent several months in temporary state custody before Texas courts ordered them returned to the ranch, stating they weren’t at immediate risk of abuse. However, more than half a dozen men from the sect were eventually convicted of child sexual assault and abuse.In July 2010, the Utah Supreme Court reversed Jeffs’ 2007 convictions on the grounds that the jury in his trial had received faulty instructions. However, in December of that same year, Jeffs was extradited to Texas to stand trial on charges of sexual assault. In August 2011, a jury convicted him of child sexual assault in a case involving a 12-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl whom hehad wed in what his church referred to asspirtual marriages. Jeffs, who fathered a child with the 15-year-old, was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2008, state authorities raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, a compound Jeffs founded for his followers in 2004. Acting on a series of tips, Texas officials removed over 400 children from the compound on suspicions they were being abused. The children spent several months in temporary state custody before Texas courts ordered them returned to the ranch, stating they weren’t at immediate risk of abuse. However, more than half a dozen men from the sect were eventually convicted of child sexual assault and abuse.In July 2010, the Utah Supreme Court reversed Jeffs’ 2007 convictions on the grounds that the jury in his trial had received faulty instructions. However, in December of that same year, Jeffs was extradited to Texas to stand trial on charges of sexual assault. In August 2011, a jury convicted him of child sexual assault in a case involving a 12-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl whom hehad wed in what his church referred to asspirtual marriages. Jeffs, who fathered a child with the 15-year-old, was sentenced to life in prison.
Fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is arrested - Aug 28, 2006 - HISTORY.com
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Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, FLDS, in 'sacred land' standoff
For the past century, the community of Short Creek, on the border between Utah and Arizona, has been the stronghold of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Chr...
Thank you my friend TSgt Joe C. for reminding us that on August 28, 2006 Warren Jeffs, the leader of a polygamist sect of Mormons, was arrested by a highway patrol officer during a traffic stop in Nevada. At the time of his arrest, Jeffs was facing charges in Arizona and Utah of arranging marriages between men and underage girls.
Background from washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR [login to see] 438_pf.html
"Fugitive Polygamist Arrested in Nevada
By KEN RITTER
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 29, 2006; 10:43 PM
LAS VEGAS -- After more than a year on the run and three months on the FBI's Most Wanted List, the charismatic leader of a polygamous sect was captured during a routine traffic stop and now faces charges he arranged marriages between underage girls and older men.
Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, was arrested without incident just outside Las Vegas late Monday, the FBI said Tuesday. No weapons were found, but the 2007 red Cadillac Escalade he was riding in was filled with items including three wigs, 15 cell phones, $54,000 in cash and $10,000 in gift cards, authorities said.
Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a group that broke away from the Mormon church a century ago. He is said to have at least 40 wives and nearly 60 children.
Church dissidents say that underage marriages _ some involving girls as young as 13 _ escalated into the hundreds under his leadership, and that he broke apart families by casting out married men and reassigning their women and children to others.
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told KTAR-AM of Phoenix that Jeffs' arrest marks "the beginning of the end of ... the tyrannical rule of a small group of people over the practically 10,000 followers of the FLDS sect." He predicted it will lead more people to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse.
Most of the church's members live in Hildale, Utah, and adjoining Colorado City, Ariz., but authorities have said they believe Jeffs had "safe houses" in four other states _ including Nevada _ and Canada.
Jeffs' vehicle was stopped on Interstate 15 for having a temporary Colorado license tag that wasn't easily readable, FBI and Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.
State Trooper Eddie Dutchover told The Associated Press he felt something was amiss.
"Something was obviously wrong," Dutchover said. "I even told him, 'You're making me nervous. Is everything OK?'
"He said, 'Everything's fine,'" Dutchover said. "He just stared straight ahead."
Dutchover called other officers. Even when Sgt. David Miller found letters in the car addressed to "President Warren Jeffs," Jeffs refused to give his name.
Jeffs identified himself as John Findley, using a contact lens receipt from Florida as identification.
"Once the FBI got there," Dutchover said, "he gave his full name, Warren Jeffs, and kind of gave a sigh."
Jeffs would not tell investigators where he had been hiding out, but he did say "that he was being subject to what he termed religious prosecutions," said FBI agent John E. Lewis.
Items inside the vehicle also included four laptop computers, a GPS device, a police scanner, and numerous unopened envelopes that were thought to contain more cash, Lewis said.
Jeffs was being held Tuesday in Clark County jail, awaiting a court hearing Thursday on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The two people traveling with him, wife Naomi Jeffs and a brother, Isaac Steed Jeffs, both 32, were released and will not be charged, FBI agent Steven Martinez said.
Jeffs is wanted in Utah and Arizona on charges of arranging two marriages between underage girls and older men. The charges include two counts of rape as an accomplice in Utah, with each count punishable by up to life in prison.
He had been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list since May, with a $100,000 reward offered for information leading to his capture.
The FLDS Church split from the mainstream Mormon Church when the Mormons disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago. Warren Jeffs took over the renegade sect in 2002 after the death of his 98-year-old father, Rulon Jeffs, who was said to have had 65 children by several women. Warren Jeffs took nearly all his father's widows as his own wives.
Jeffs has been called a dangerous extremist by those familiar with his church. Church dissidents said that while the sect has long practiced the custom of arranged marriages, young girls were rarely married off until Warren Jeffs came to power.
People expelled from the community said young men were sent away to avoid competition for brides. Older men were cast out for alleged disobedience, and their wives and children were reassigned by Jeffs to new husbands and fathers, the former members said.
"If this will bring an end to that, that will be a good thing," said Ward Jeffs, an older half-brother of Warren. "We're excited for the people down there, but we're very concerned about who might step up and take the leadership role."
It remained unclear Tuesday what would happen to the leadership of the church while Jeffs was behind bars.
Federal and state law enforcement agencies will determine whether Jeffs should be sent first to Utah or Arizona, said Steve Sorenson, a federal prosecutor in Salt Lake City. Utah's charges are more serious.
___
Associated Press writers Paul Foy and Jennifer Dobner in Salt Lake City."
Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, FLDS, in 'sacred land' standoff
"For the past century, the community of Short Creek, on the border between Utah and Arizona, has been the stronghold of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They’re known for practicing polygamy and following the prophet Warren Jeffs, currently serving a life sentence for pedophilia. Most of the land in Short Creek belongs to a trust founded by the FLDS church, but now managed by former FLDS members. Since current members won’t cooperate with the new secular management of the trust, many FLDS homes are facing eviction."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkmB6v-x5AA
FYI LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip Roncari Sgt Arthur Caesar ]Lt Col Jim CoeCWO3 Dennis M.SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCordSGT Jim Arnold Sgt Albert Castro PO3 Phyllis Maynard Maj Robert Thornton 1SG Carl McAndrews SPC Douglas Bolton Cynthia Croft PO1 H Gene Lawrence SGT Brent Scott CW5 John M. CMSgt (Join to see) PO2 Kevin Parker
Background from washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR [login to see] 438_pf.html
"Fugitive Polygamist Arrested in Nevada
By KEN RITTER
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 29, 2006; 10:43 PM
LAS VEGAS -- After more than a year on the run and three months on the FBI's Most Wanted List, the charismatic leader of a polygamous sect was captured during a routine traffic stop and now faces charges he arranged marriages between underage girls and older men.
Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, was arrested without incident just outside Las Vegas late Monday, the FBI said Tuesday. No weapons were found, but the 2007 red Cadillac Escalade he was riding in was filled with items including three wigs, 15 cell phones, $54,000 in cash and $10,000 in gift cards, authorities said.
Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a group that broke away from the Mormon church a century ago. He is said to have at least 40 wives and nearly 60 children.
Church dissidents say that underage marriages _ some involving girls as young as 13 _ escalated into the hundreds under his leadership, and that he broke apart families by casting out married men and reassigning their women and children to others.
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told KTAR-AM of Phoenix that Jeffs' arrest marks "the beginning of the end of ... the tyrannical rule of a small group of people over the practically 10,000 followers of the FLDS sect." He predicted it will lead more people to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse.
Most of the church's members live in Hildale, Utah, and adjoining Colorado City, Ariz., but authorities have said they believe Jeffs had "safe houses" in four other states _ including Nevada _ and Canada.
Jeffs' vehicle was stopped on Interstate 15 for having a temporary Colorado license tag that wasn't easily readable, FBI and Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.
State Trooper Eddie Dutchover told The Associated Press he felt something was amiss.
"Something was obviously wrong," Dutchover said. "I even told him, 'You're making me nervous. Is everything OK?'
"He said, 'Everything's fine,'" Dutchover said. "He just stared straight ahead."
Dutchover called other officers. Even when Sgt. David Miller found letters in the car addressed to "President Warren Jeffs," Jeffs refused to give his name.
Jeffs identified himself as John Findley, using a contact lens receipt from Florida as identification.
"Once the FBI got there," Dutchover said, "he gave his full name, Warren Jeffs, and kind of gave a sigh."
Jeffs would not tell investigators where he had been hiding out, but he did say "that he was being subject to what he termed religious prosecutions," said FBI agent John E. Lewis.
Items inside the vehicle also included four laptop computers, a GPS device, a police scanner, and numerous unopened envelopes that were thought to contain more cash, Lewis said.
Jeffs was being held Tuesday in Clark County jail, awaiting a court hearing Thursday on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The two people traveling with him, wife Naomi Jeffs and a brother, Isaac Steed Jeffs, both 32, were released and will not be charged, FBI agent Steven Martinez said.
Jeffs is wanted in Utah and Arizona on charges of arranging two marriages between underage girls and older men. The charges include two counts of rape as an accomplice in Utah, with each count punishable by up to life in prison.
He had been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list since May, with a $100,000 reward offered for information leading to his capture.
The FLDS Church split from the mainstream Mormon Church when the Mormons disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago. Warren Jeffs took over the renegade sect in 2002 after the death of his 98-year-old father, Rulon Jeffs, who was said to have had 65 children by several women. Warren Jeffs took nearly all his father's widows as his own wives.
Jeffs has been called a dangerous extremist by those familiar with his church. Church dissidents said that while the sect has long practiced the custom of arranged marriages, young girls were rarely married off until Warren Jeffs came to power.
People expelled from the community said young men were sent away to avoid competition for brides. Older men were cast out for alleged disobedience, and their wives and children were reassigned by Jeffs to new husbands and fathers, the former members said.
"If this will bring an end to that, that will be a good thing," said Ward Jeffs, an older half-brother of Warren. "We're excited for the people down there, but we're very concerned about who might step up and take the leadership role."
It remained unclear Tuesday what would happen to the leadership of the church while Jeffs was behind bars.
Federal and state law enforcement agencies will determine whether Jeffs should be sent first to Utah or Arizona, said Steve Sorenson, a federal prosecutor in Salt Lake City. Utah's charges are more serious.
___
Associated Press writers Paul Foy and Jennifer Dobner in Salt Lake City."
Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, FLDS, in 'sacred land' standoff
"For the past century, the community of Short Creek, on the border between Utah and Arizona, has been the stronghold of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They’re known for practicing polygamy and following the prophet Warren Jeffs, currently serving a life sentence for pedophilia. Most of the land in Short Creek belongs to a trust founded by the FLDS church, but now managed by former FLDS members. Since current members won’t cooperate with the new secular management of the trust, many FLDS homes are facing eviction."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkmB6v-x5AA
FYI LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip Roncari Sgt Arthur Caesar ]Lt Col Jim CoeCWO3 Dennis M.SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCordSGT Jim Arnold Sgt Albert Castro PO3 Phyllis Maynard Maj Robert Thornton 1SG Carl McAndrews SPC Douglas Bolton Cynthia Croft PO1 H Gene Lawrence SGT Brent Scott CW5 John M. CMSgt (Join to see) PO2 Kevin Parker
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SFC Shirley Whitfield 1SG Carl McAndrews MSG Mark Million COL Lee Flemming LTC (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SCPO Morris Ramsey SFC William Farrell Alan K. LTC Greg Henning MSgt Stephen Council Sgt Trevor Barrett Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. MSG Andrew White SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth Cpl Scott McCarroll LTC John Shaw LTC John Griscom SFC (Join to see)
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