Jeffs in for last motion hearing
 
By Patrice St. Germain
patrices@thespectrum.com
Warren Jeffs

Jeffs

HURRICANE - A motion hearing scheduled for today is the last scheduled hearing in the state's case against Warren Steed Jeffs until a jury trial begins in September.

The hearing scheduled in 5th District Court is supposed to determine if the testimony of two prosecution witnesses, Jethro Barlow and Richard Holm, will be allowed at trial.

Holm and Barlow are both former members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, of which Jeffs, 51, is the leader.

Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet of the FLDS Church, is facing two charges of rape as an accomplice for his alleged role in arranging the marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.

In a hearing a month ago, Deputy County Attorney Ryan Shaum argued that the witnesses were important to the state's case and had direct knowledge of Jeffs' alleged criminal conduct.

Walter Bugden, one of Jeffs' attorneys, said he is anticipating the trial will start on Sept. 7.

Brian Filter, senior deputy county attorney, said he is not anticipating any more hearings and said the county is ready to go forward with the trial.

The trial is scheduled for 11 days and will be in 5th District Court before Judge James Shumate.

Jeffs, who was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List, was apprehended on Aug. 28 in a routine traffic stop on Interstate 15 near Las Vegas.

Although Jeffs has been behind bars since his arrest, work continues outside the area on compounds in Texas, South Dakota and Colorado, said private investigator Sam Brower.

"They are still building like crazy. It hasn't slowed down. It has picked up," Brower said.

Brower said people may be relocating to those places and although Jeffs may not be handling the day-to-day running of the FLDS church, Jeffs is still wielding power over those in his church.

"The buck stops with him," Brower said.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published August 20, 2007
 
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