Judge dismisses all Arizona charges against FLDS leader Warren Jeffs
 
By Aaron Falk
Deseret News
 
KINGMAN, Ariz. — A Mohave County judge has dismissed all Arizona charges against FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.

Judge Steven Conn dismissed the four charges of sexual misconduct with a minor after prosecutors filed a motion Wednesday requesting the dismissal. The charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled.

The court ordered the sheriff's office to transport Jeffs back to Utah, where his 2007 convictions on two counts of rape as an accomplice are on appeal. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of five years to life in prison for the charges, which involved Jeffs' role in the marriage of an underage follower to her then-19-year-old cousin.

Mohave County Attorney Matthew Smith noted that Texas has started extradition proceedings, but Conn said Arizona had only temporary custody of Jeffs until the charges against him were resolved. Any such proceeding must be initiated with Utah, not Arizona, Conn said.

In Wednesday's motion, Smith outlined a number of reasons for asking the court to dismiss two felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor. Jeffs has "already served more jail time in Arizona than he would receive even if he was convicted of all crimes charged," the document states.

Mohave County's decision would also speed up matters in Texas, where Jeffs faces more serious charges.

Among the other reasons cited in the document: Jeffs has had significant medical problems while in the Mohave County Jail and officials believe he should be transferred to another facility; some of the state's witnesses no longer desire to testify in the Arizona case; it would be "impractical and unnecessary to spend taxpayer money" on the case.

Jeffs, the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, was moved to Kingman from Utah in February 2008. Jeffs' troubles extended into Texas when he was indicted on charges of sexual assault of a child and bigamy, months after authorities raided the FLDS Yearning for Zion ranch at Eldorado in April 2008.

Contributing: Associated Press
e-mail: afalk@desnews.com
TWITTER: DNewsCrimeTeam
 
DeseretNews.com
Originally published Wednesday, June 9, 2010
 
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