FLDS: Jeffs a challenge for his jailers
 Arizona sheriff says Jeffs was highest-maintenance prisoner
 
Dave Hawkins Special to the Standard-Times
San Angelo Standard-Times
 
KINGMAN, Ariz. — Texas can expect numerous challenges and a drain of taxpayer funded resources associated with the incarceration and prosecution of polygamous church sect prophet Warren Jeffs, 55. That’s what officials in northwest Arizona indicate after holding Jeffs in the Mohave County jail in downtown Kingman for nearly 27 months.

Jeffs was extradited to Texas from Utah Tuesday and is housed in the county jail at Big Lake. He was arraigned Wednesday and has a pretrial hearing scheduled Dec. 8.

"He was very costly to incarcerate and house," said Mohave County, Ariz., Sheriff Tom Sheahan. "He went on these self-imposed hunger strikes, which forced us to force feed him through tubes. It was a big drain on our staff, a big drain on our medical provider, and he was just a problem inmate from day one."

Jeffs was booked into jail in Kingman February 26, 2008, and was released June 15, 2010, after local charges were dismissed.

The devout loyalty of Jeffs’ followers and their strenuous belief that he was unjustly jailed magnified external security concerns, according to Jail Director Bruce Brown. More than a dozen officers worked a special detail each time Jeffs was transported from jail to the courthouse, about 100 yards away.

Personnel would block the street, remove civilians and drive Jeffs from the jail salley port directly to the entry door at the courthouse. Extra officers patrolled streets around the courthouse during Jeffs’ hearings, and at least a half-dozen officers were always present in the courtroom.

Inside the jail, Jeffs required isolation, both for medical monitoring and for his own protection.

"We had to keep him segregated from the inmate population because there’s certain members inside our general population that would not have allowed him to exist in safety very long," Brown said.

Prayer binges and fasting also made Jeffs a high maintenance inmate.

"He was one of the most manpower intensive inmates we ever had," said Sheahan.

Jeffs was rushed to Kingman Regional Medical Center the first time in July 2008 after less than five months’ confinement in the Kingman jail. He was flown to another hospital in Las Vegas after exhibiting signs of weakness and lethargy.

Following the July incident, Jeffs followed the same hospital circuit in September 2008. He was treated at the Kingman and Las Vegas hospitals for dehydration, malnourishment and lethargy. Brown said Jeffs, who is 6-feet, 3-inches tall, weighed only 144 pounds.

After the second hospital trip, medical staff in the jail began force feeding Jeffs through tubes when he engaged in religious fasting that imperiled his health. And they sometimes would take measures to prevent prolonged prayer sessions that produced sores on his knees.

"There were times when we literally had to tie him down or four-point restrain him in his bed so that he wouldn’t continue to do medical damage to his body," Brown said.

Prosecuting Jeffs was rigorous as well, according to Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith. He said three defense lawyers working the Arizona case put quite a strain on his office and its limited resources.

"It was extremely strenuous," Smith said. He said the defense team taxed his resources with extensive discovery efforts and motion practice.

The charges against Jeffs, related to allegations that he facilitated marriages of underage girls, were dismissed with prejudice on June 9 and he was sent to Utah.
 
gosanangelo.com
Originally published December 2, 2010
 
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