Jeffs returns to court
 
By Patrice St. Germain
patrices@thespectrum.com
Warren Jeffs

Jeffs

HURRICANE - Warren Steed Jeffs will be back in court this week, this time for ahearing to suppress evidence, scheduled for Wednesday morning in 5th District Court.

Jeffs, 51, was a fugitive from justice when a red Cadillac Escalade he was riding in was pulled over on Interstate 15 just north of Las Vegas during a traffic stop last August.

The stop resulted in the arrest of Jeffs and the seizure of numerous items, including cellular telephones, laptop computers, wigs and cash in excess of $50,000.

Jeffs' attorneys are looking to suppress evidence gathered from the vehicle and to suppress testimony Jeffs gave to authorities at the time.

Jeffs, 51, faces two counts of rape as an accomplice for allegedly arranging a marriage between a 14-year old girl and her 19-year old cousin in Utah. He faces similar charges in Mohave County, Ariz.

Washington County Deputy Attorney Brian Filter said the burden in this hearing is on the state. Since it was a warrant-less search, the state has to prove the items seized should not be suppressed.

Filter said in a warranted search, the opposite is true and defense attorneys must prove that evidence should be suppressed.

Telephone calls to Jeffs' attorney Walter Bugden were not returned.

Jeffs' jury trial is scheduled for early September.

Jeffs was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list when he was arrested in August of last year and was the leader of what is believed to be the nation's largest polygamist community.

The number of followers of the Fundemantalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which Jeffs oversees, ranges from 6,000 to 10,000.

Most of the members live in the twin cities of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., which was previously called Short Creek.

The area, has been home to polygamists since the early 1900s and most have lived in the towns on the Utah-Arizona border. However, the church has expanded its property holdings and has compounds is Eldorado, Texas; Mancos, Colo.; Pringle, S.D.; and in British Columbia, Canada.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published June 12, 2007
 
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