United Effort Plan Timeline
 
The Spectrum
 
May 24 – The Arizona Attorney General’s Office serves a criminal search warrant on Colorado City Unified School District No. 14. Agents take boxes of financial records, other documents and computer equipment. The attorney general’s office is preparing a petition to present to the State Board of Education to put the school district into receivership based on a law passed by the Arizona State Legislature. The new law will take effect August 12.

May 27 – Utah Attorney General Mark Shutleff announces that 3rd District Court Judge Robert W. Adkins issued a temporary restraining order suspending the authority and power of the trustees of the United Effort Plan trust, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Adkins found that there was sufficient evidence to show that trustees had not acted with reasonable care to protect trust property and defend against pending lawsuits.

June 9 – The Mohave County Attorney’s Office indicts Warren Steed Jeffs, the prophet of the FLDS church, on two class-six felony charges, which include sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. The charges are based on Jeffs setting up a marriage between a 28-year old man and a 16-year old girl. The alleged crime occurred on or between March 28, 2002 and June 30, 2002 in the vicinity of Colorado City. A warrant for Jeffs’ arrest was issued.

June 16 - The Mohave County Attorney’s Office obtains indictments against three Colorado City men for their participation in spiritual, but non-legal, marriages to girls under the age of 18. Indicted were Kelly Fischer, 38, Dale Barlow, 48, and Randy Barlow, 32. The men surrendered to authorities on July 11.

June 22 – Third District Court Judge Glenn Iwasaki suspends the known UEP trustees pending a final court hearing. The trustees include Warren Jeffs, Truman Barlow, LeRoy Jeffs, Winston Blackmore, William Jessop (also known as William Timpson) and James Zitting. Iwasaki orders the trustees to cease all activities involving the trust, except to protect the trust, until new trustees are appointed. He also appoints Bruce Wisan, a certified public accountant, to act as special fiduciary to protect certain assets of the trust and investigate trust property.

July 1 – Judge Constandinos "Deno" Himonas considers appointing new trustees at a hearing on July 21. If suitable trustees are not proposed, the judge could establish a process to name trustees or expand the role of the special fiduciary.

July 7 - The Mohave County Attorney’s Office obtains indictments against five Colorado City men for their participation in spiritual, but non-legal, marriages to girls under the age of 18. Indicted were Rodney Holm, 39, Donald Robert Barlow, 49, David Romaine Bateman, 48, Terry Darger Barlow, 24, and Vergel Bryce Jessop, 45. Mohave County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Bateman at his home on July 8. The other men surrendered to authorities on July 11 as well as three other Colorado City men who were indicted on June 16.

July 11 – Himonas recuses himself from the case to appoint new UEP trustees because of a possible conflict of interest after three new potential trustees are announced and are represented by a law firm Himonas once worked for.

July 13 – Utah and Arizona Attorneys General, Mark Shurtleff and Terry Goddard, band together to offer a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who is also wanted on a federal warrant.

July 14 – The hearing to appoint UEP trustees is postponed and the case is assigned to Judge Denise Lindberg.

July 19 – A new hearing date to potentially name new UEP trustees is set for August 4.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published August 5, 2005
 
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