| Police, prosecutors gather in Colorado City Residents don't put out the red carpet as manhunt intensifies | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News | |
As the nationwide manhunt for fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs intensifies, police, prosecutors and other major players in the battle over the Fundamentalist LDS Church met Tuesday in the eye of the storm — the polygamist border town of Colorado City, Ariz. Law enforcement officers described the atmosphere in the town as "tense." "I sense that people are wound pretty tight right now," Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith said. Some people were seen leaving town as law enforcement arrived. "People weren't exactly waiting for us with open arms in the front yard," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told the Deseret Morning News. "There's an awful lot of fences that have been built." Goddard said his staff tried to serve Arizona grand jury subpoenas (see related story) at City Hall and the town marshal's office and found no one there. "In the middle of the week no one is in City Hall," he said. "They were avoiding us." Goddard was in town to meet with law enforcement from Utah and Arizona about the FLDS Church and its fugitive prophet, Warren Jeffs. The meeting included Goddard, Mohave County (Ariz.) Sheriff Tom Sheehan, polygamy investigator Gary Engels, Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith, Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap, representatives of Arizona's Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council and Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed special fiduciary of the United Effort Plan (UEP) Trust. They discussed a variety of issues, including the hunt for Jeffs, problems with police officers in the polygamous border towns and the financial problems of the UEP. Last week, 12 letters were sent to prominent people in Hildale and Colorado City, urging them to pay their property taxes or face eviction. On Tuesday, Wisan said five parcels of land in Colorado City had their property taxes paid, a total of $63,000. On seven parcels in Hildale, Wisan is instructing his lawyers to file a notice to quit with the courts, meaning they have five days to pay the taxes or get out. "I've got another 12 we're looking at. They should go out either tomorrow or the day after. Some are on your list, some are not," Wisan said, referring to a list obtained by the Deseret Morning News that includes more than 70 names of prominent FLDS members targeted for possible eviction if they don't pay their property taxes. In 2005, the state of Utah took control of the UEP to stop "looting" of the $110 million financial arm of the FLDS Church. A judge appointed Wisan to take over. In response, buildings in the border towns began disappearing. Coincidentally, a grain elevator system that vanished months ago mysteriously reappeared Monday night. "It's about 40 yards from where it was," Wisan said. "It's not in its entirety. The big part, the expensive part is there." Wisan gave Goddard and his staff a tour of Colorado City. At the meeting, Goddard pushed for a joint federal, state and local task force to capture Jeffs. Smith said he did not feel a task force was necessary. "I would rather this stay a local law enforcement issue and see us take care of this problem ourselves," the sheriff said in an interview. "I realize we've been dealing with this for a time and not had any success. With Warren on the top 10 list, hopefully that will give us what we need to take him into custody. If that doesn't work then we step it up a notch." The FBI has named Jeffs to its Ten Most Wanted list, putting him in the company of serial murderers, mobsters and terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest. Jeffs is facing local charges in both Utah and Arizona, accusing him of forcing teenage girls into polygamous marriages. Federal prosecutors have charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. On Monday, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff confirmed his office has been conducting an organized crime investigation into Jeffs and the FLDS Church. A federal grand jury in Arizona is also reportedly investigating Jeffs. Meanwhile, Jeffs' former lawyer defended him and the members of the FLDS Church. Salt Lake City attorney Rod Parker represented Jeffs and the polygamous church from 1990 to 2004. He still retains some clients in Hildale and Colorado City and communicates with FLDS members on a regular basis. In an interview Tuesday, Parker would not reveal details about the many conversations he had with Jeffs over the years, but spoke respectfully of his former client. "My impression of him, he's intellectual. He's smart. He is very religious," Parker said. "Definitely, he's all about religion and he's sincere about that. He's not just pretending to be about that." Parker said to call Jeffs an "evil mastermind" reflects a misunderstanding of the polygamous communities. "They feel under siege," Parker said of the people in Hildale and Colorado City. "They feel alienated. They feel that the government is out of their minds, and it's unreasonable." E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Wednesday, May 10, 2006 | |
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