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Shared on Wed, 08/30/2006 - 14:31Fugitive Polygamist Cult Leader Caught Near Las Vegas!
By Don Woutat and Richard B. Schmitt, Times Staff Writers
1:49 PM PDT, August 29, 2006 LAS VEGAS -- Warren Steed Jeffs, the leader of a polygamist church who was on the FBI's 10 most-wanted list, was arrested near Las Vegas after authorities pulled over a vehicle he was riding in and found three wigs, a large number of cell phones, laptop computers and more than $50,000 in cash, it was announced today.
Jeffs, 50, was stopped shortly after 9 p.m. Monday after a Nevada state trooper could not see any registration or license plate on the 2007 red Cadillac Escalade in which Jeffs was a passenger. The vehicle was northbound on Interstate 15 in southern Nevada. The driver was identified as Isaac Jeffs, 32, described by police as a brother of the fugitive.
The initial responses to the trooper's questions were "inconsistent," and he called for backup. It was unclear how the trooper suspected that Jeffs was in the car. A computer failure prevented authorities from immediately tracing the vehicle, Nevada state officials said. The SUV turned out to carry temporary registration from Colorado.
The state troopers contacted the FBI and agents dispatched to the scene made the arrest. Jeffs initially used an alias to identify himself, but then admitted who he was, said Steve Martinez, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI field office. Martinez declined to say what alias was used.
Jeffs, who had a $100,000 reward offered for his capture, did not resist arrest, Martinez said. Isaac Jeffs and a 32-year-old woman identified as one of the fugitive's wives, also traveling in the vehicle, were released without charge after authorities in Arizona and Utah indicated that they would not pursue charges against them for harboring a fugitive.
Inside the SUV, authorities found a "large number" of cell phones and laptop computers, three wigs and more than $50,000 in cash, Martinez said. No weapons were found, he said.
Jeffs was being held at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on a federal warrant for flight to avoid prosecution. The main charges against Jeffs were pending by the states of Arizona and Utah, and it has not been decided in which state Jeffs would face the initial charges, including two counts of rape as an accomplice in Utah. He faces widespread sexual abuse and civil rights violations.
Jeffs has been accused of repeatedly raping his nephew, Brent Jeffs, who was then 5 years old, in Utah. Now 23, Brent Jeffs filed a lawsuit in 2004, saying his uncle is believed to have molested other children.
Moreover, Jeffs was charged in April with rape in Washington County, Utah for allegedly encouraging a man to have sex with his underage wife without her consent.
Growing up, Jeffs was raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, an offshoot of Mormonism. He was a teacher and later principal of the sect's Alta Academy. Jeffs ascended to leader of the 10,000-member secretive sect when his father, the FLDS prophet Rulon Jeffs, died and the younger Jeffs claimed he was sent by God as a prophet, which no one disputed.
Members learn they cannot reach the highest levels of heaven without at least three wives. Women, or often girls, are "gifted" to men by the prophet, who is seen as revealing God's plan.
With most of the followers in Arizona and Utah, former members of the group, as well as state investigators, describe it as a tyrannical theocracy. Jeffs, known for wearing a white shirt and jacket, frequently issued edicts.
Certain "missionaries" were sent door to door to see whether people were engaging in forbidden acts, such as listening to music or watching television. Competitive sports were banned because he thought they bred pride.
Members lived largely rent-free, but were at the church's mercy. They were required to tithe 10% of their income and, in addition, give $1,000 per month, per family, witnesses said, as Jeffs' calls for money "to build up the kingdom" increased.
During public meetings, he had wheelbarrows placed at the podiums for members to put their cash donations as he harped on themes of absolute obedience. The only way for women to be happy, he said, according to transcripts of a 1995 lecture to students, was to "let her husband, a faithful man, rule over her."
At times, people were thrown out of their church-owned homes or the family of one man was given to another, usually without explanation. Jeffs directed people to write endless letters of repentance letters confessing their sins. Those letters, many believe, were used for blackmail or to gather intelligence about his rivals.
Jeffs equipped his compound in Hildale, Utah with a huge wall and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. He often traveled in convoys of SUVs with armed bodyguards, but authorities said on Monday night Jeffs was unarmed and traveling without weapons, traveling quietly and trying to avoid detection.
An FBI spokesman in Washington said today that Nevada state troopers called the FBI Las Vegas office after making the initial stop.
"One or both troopers had an idea this was Jeffs," an FBI spokesman said of the fugitive who was placed on the most wanted list in May. "They detained him and called the local FBI office. As soon as the agents arrived, he readily admitted he was Jeffs."
He was then taken to the Vegas FBI office. "He submitted to having fingerprints taken and signed his true name to the fingerprint card."
"It was a routine traffic stop … and the troopers acted on it," the spokesman said.
Times staff writers Woutat reported from Las Vegas; Schmitt from Washington, D.C. Times staff writers David Kelley and Gary Cohn also contributed to this report.
Jeffs, 50, was stopped shortly after 9 p.m. Monday after a Nevada state trooper could not see any registration or license plate on the 2007 red Cadillac Escalade in which Jeffs was a passenger. The vehicle was northbound on Interstate 15 in southern Nevada. The driver was identified as Isaac Jeffs, 32, described by police as a brother of the fugitive.
The initial responses to the trooper's questions were "inconsistent," and he called for backup. It was unclear how the trooper suspected that Jeffs was in the car. A computer failure prevented authorities from immediately tracing the vehicle, Nevada state officials said. The SUV turned out to carry temporary registration from Colorado.
The state troopers contacted the FBI and agents dispatched to the scene made the arrest. Jeffs initially used an alias to identify himself, but then admitted who he was, said Steve Martinez, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI field office. Martinez declined to say what alias was used.
Jeffs, who had a $100,000 reward offered for his capture, did not resist arrest, Martinez said. Isaac Jeffs and a 32-year-old woman identified as one of the fugitive's wives, also traveling in the vehicle, were released without charge after authorities in Arizona and Utah indicated that they would not pursue charges against them for harboring a fugitive.
Inside the SUV, authorities found a "large number" of cell phones and laptop computers, three wigs and more than $50,000 in cash, Martinez said. No weapons were found, he said.
Jeffs was being held at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on a federal warrant for flight to avoid prosecution. The main charges against Jeffs were pending by the states of Arizona and Utah, and it has not been decided in which state Jeffs would face the initial charges, including two counts of rape as an accomplice in Utah. He faces widespread sexual abuse and civil rights violations.
Jeffs has been accused of repeatedly raping his nephew, Brent Jeffs, who was then 5 years old, in Utah. Now 23, Brent Jeffs filed a lawsuit in 2004, saying his uncle is believed to have molested other children.
Moreover, Jeffs was charged in April with rape in Washington County, Utah for allegedly encouraging a man to have sex with his underage wife without her consent.
Growing up, Jeffs was raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, an offshoot of Mormonism. He was a teacher and later principal of the sect's Alta Academy. Jeffs ascended to leader of the 10,000-member secretive sect when his father, the FLDS prophet Rulon Jeffs, died and the younger Jeffs claimed he was sent by God as a prophet, which no one disputed.
Members learn they cannot reach the highest levels of heaven without at least three wives. Women, or often girls, are "gifted" to men by the prophet, who is seen as revealing God's plan.
With most of the followers in Arizona and Utah, former members of the group, as well as state investigators, describe it as a tyrannical theocracy. Jeffs, known for wearing a white shirt and jacket, frequently issued edicts.
Certain "missionaries" were sent door to door to see whether people were engaging in forbidden acts, such as listening to music or watching television. Competitive sports were banned because he thought they bred pride.
Members lived largely rent-free, but were at the church's mercy. They were required to tithe 10% of their income and, in addition, give $1,000 per month, per family, witnesses said, as Jeffs' calls for money "to build up the kingdom" increased.
During public meetings, he had wheelbarrows placed at the podiums for members to put their cash donations as he harped on themes of absolute obedience. The only way for women to be happy, he said, according to transcripts of a 1995 lecture to students, was to "let her husband, a faithful man, rule over her."
At times, people were thrown out of their church-owned homes or the family of one man was given to another, usually without explanation. Jeffs directed people to write endless letters of repentance letters confessing their sins. Those letters, many believe, were used for blackmail or to gather intelligence about his rivals.
Jeffs equipped his compound in Hildale, Utah with a huge wall and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. He often traveled in convoys of SUVs with armed bodyguards, but authorities said on Monday night Jeffs was unarmed and traveling without weapons, traveling quietly and trying to avoid detection.
An FBI spokesman in Washington said today that Nevada state troopers called the FBI Las Vegas office after making the initial stop.
"One or both troopers had an idea this was Jeffs," an FBI spokesman said of the fugitive who was placed on the most wanted list in May. "They detained him and called the local FBI office. As soon as the agents arrived, he readily admitted he was Jeffs."
He was then taken to the Vegas FBI office. "He submitted to having fingerprints taken and signed his true name to the fingerprint card."
"It was a routine traffic stop … and the troopers acted on it," the spokesman said.
Times staff writers Woutat reported from Las Vegas; Schmitt from Washington, D.C. Times staff writers David Kelley and Gary Cohn also contributed to this report.
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Submitted by darth_chibius on Thu, 08/31/2006 - 10:05