Documents may be secret cache
 
By Ed Kociela
ekociela@thespectrum.com
 
ST. GEORGE - Documents stashed in the red 2007 Cadillac Escalade that polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was riding in when he was arrested Monday night could lead investigators to the people who provided money and shelter while he was on the run.

According to an affidavit filed in a Washington County court, an FBI inventory of the contents of the vehicle included not only $53,000 in cash, 16 cell phones, two GPS units, a police scanner, four laptop computers, six computer memory storage devices and bedding items, but also the names of individuals who contributed money and "hiding houses" for Jeffs since he went underground.

There was also a document allegedly written by Jeffs, the self-proclaimed leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, instructing his accomplices not to reveal his location. "So I have to be hiding in my travels, not let anyone know. And when I come to a land of refuge, you must not reveal where I am in your phone calls and letters," he says in the document.

The court affidavit was a memorandum filed by Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap to support a motion to hold Jeffs without bail when he comes to Southern Utah to stand trial. Fifth District Judge James L. Shumate approved the motion on Wednesday.

Police found the $53,000 in cash concealed inside the lining of a suitcase in the vehicle. Jeffs' brother, Isaac, 32, who was driving the car, had $1,500 in cash, and Naomi Jeffs, 32, one of Jeffs' many wives, had $900 in cash.

In his argument, Belnap told the judge that Jeffs is a flight risk because he abandoned more than $100 million in assets as a trustee of the United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the FLDS church, rather than face charges in Utah, where he faces two felony counts of accomplice to rape, and Arizona, where he faces felony charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. There are also federal charges against him for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

According to the affidavit, investigators believe Jeffs is also a risk to the community and that members of the FLDS fold have told them that Jeffs "will not allow himself to be taken," "will never be taken alive" and that he will "die as a martyr."

The Utah charges center primarily on one incident where Jeffs is said to have performed a spiritual wedding between an underage girl and older man, telling the child that it was her "spiritual duty to submit to the marriage and that the marriage arrangement was from God."

The girl reportedly met with Jeffs several times to explain her discomfort with the arrangement. According to the affidavit, Jeffs told her, "No matter what happens, you cannot fight with the priesthood because if you do, you'll lose your salvation."
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published September 1, 2006
 
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