Tip on Jeffs led FBI, cops to a house in Lakewood
 
By Hector Gutierrez
Rocky Mountain News
 
LAKEWOOD - An anonymous tip that the fugitive leader of a polygamist sect was at a home in the Westgate neighborhood triggered a search by local and federal authorities, the FBI said Wednesday.

Neighbors in the 2600 block of South Flower Street north of the Bear Creek Greenbelt said three people were living in the rental home that was cited by the tipster as the place where Warren Jeffs was seen. The trio has lived in the house for several months, one neighbor said.

FBI agents interviewed the residents at the home, but did not take anyone into custody, said Monique Kelso, a spokeswoman for the FBI.

"Just as with any other leads that have been coming in of possible Warren Jeffs sightings in the United States, we follow every lead, no matter how big or how small they may be," Kelso said.

The FBI has a particular interest in Jeffs. On Saturday, he was added to the bureau's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Jeffs is facing charges of sexual conduct with a minor in Arizona and being an accomplice to a rape. Federal authorities also want him for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Jeffs' Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints, a splinter group of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is believed to have more than 10,000 followers, most in Utah and Arizona. His brother, Seth Jeffs, was arrested in Pueblo in October and is accused of helping to hide his brother.

Kelso said the Lakewood police received the tip Tuesday morning that Jeffs was staying at the home. Lakewood police then notified the federal agents.

Lakewood officers helped to canvass the neighborhood, speaking with residents and showing photos of Jeffs, neighbors said.

One neighbor said the three residents at the address in question had kept to themselves and had not introduced themselves to other neighbors.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Jeffs' arrest.
 
rockymountainnews.com
Originally published May 11, 2006
 
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