Arizona prosecutor: Expect more FLDS indictments
 
The Eldorado Success
 
An Arizona prosecutor told The Success last week to expect more indictments against followers of FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs.

Matthew Smith, the county attorney for Mohave County, Arizona, said the indictments his office obtained earlier in the month against Jeffs and an unnamed member of the cult, will be followed with additional indictments against as many as fifteen individuals in the next six weeks.

Smith said it was unfortunate that news of Jeffs’ indictment leaked out before law enforcement officials in Arizona, Texas and Utah could be notified.

“In a perfect world it would have been handled differently,” Smith said.

He added that he was confident that Jeffs would eventually be apprehended and made to stand trial.

Locally, Sheriff David Doran said that he has been in contact with residents at YFZ Ranch and urged them to have Warren Jeffs turn himself in.

“Things will go a lot better for Warren Jeffs if he surrenders himself,” Doran stated. “Otherwise things can get complicated.”

Warren Jeffs was indicted by a Kingman, Arizona grand jury on March 9, 2005, on two felony charges, Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Conduct with a Minor.

It should be noted that Jeffs is not accused of having direct sexual contact with a minor, but of arranging a marriage between a 16 year-old girl and a 28 year-old man who was already married. Jeffs is also accused of performing the marriage ceremony for the couple in question.

Sheriff Doran said that he, too, expects additional indictments in the coming weeks and explains that he has been in contact with law enforcement officials in Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

“I won’t go into details, but the people of Schleicher County need to know that there are things going on and mechanisms in place for handling this thing as safely as possible,” Doran said.

Utah continues pressure on UEP

A Utah state district judge issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, June 16, 2005, barring Jeffs and his followers from selling off assets of the United Effort Plan Trust, a charitable trust operated by the FLDS church. The injunction was requested by the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

The injunction replaces a temporary restraining order that expired on the same day. A hearing is slated for Wednesday of this week at which time the court will consider removing the trust’s current trustees, including Warren Jeffs, and replacing them with a slate of substitute trustees.

Property Tax Blues

Local government leaders in Schleicher County were troubled to learn this week that Montezuma County, Colorado is having trouble collecting property taxes on land owned by David Allred, a close follower of FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs and the man who fronted the purchase of 1,691 acres of land near Eldorado.

Sources in Cortez, CO tell the Success that a $6,517.57 check written by Allred to pay the property taxes on a 120 acre parcel of land near Mancos, CO was returned due to insufficient funds. It was explained that the taxes were due on Monday, June 20, 2005, and are now considered past due.

Allred was the man who first told Schleicher County residents that the YFZ Ranch was intended as a corporate hunting retreat. He later recanted the story after press reports connected him with Warren Jeffs and the FLDS church.

The news about the Colorado taxes comes as officials in Schleicher County are beginning to plan their budgets for the upcoming tax year. 2004 property taxes on the YFZ Ranch totaling $3,974.79 were paid in full, but were calculated before any improvements were made. Scott Sutton, chief appraiser of the Schleicher County Appraisal District estimates that taxes on the ranch will easily exceed $175,000 in 2005, and that the number could be significantly higher.

All quiet on the YFZ

Local observers report a distinct reduction in activity at the YFZ Ranch since word of Warren Jeffs’ indictment was made public.

It is unknown if Jeffs is even on the property, despite persistent rumors and reports from Utah and Arizona claiming that he is holed up at the YFZ Ranch.
 
MyEldorado.net
Originally published June 23, 2005
 
Back