Jeffs pleads not guilty to charges in Arizona
 
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
 
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs pleaded not guilty today in an Arizona court to sex charges related to performing child-bride marriages.

Arizona authorities took custody of Jeffs at the Utah State Prison on Tuesday. He was flown to Kingman and booked into the Mohave County Jail on six counts of sexual conduct with a minor, four counts of incest and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct with a minor. This morning the Mohave County Sheriff's office released a new booking mug of Jeffs, who appear thin and pale.

"It was just a matter of time when it was going to come down to Utah authorities releasing him to us," Mohave County sheriff's spokeswoman Trish Carter said Tuesday. "We have been taking a proactive approach to his arrival and the safety and security of everyone, including him."

Security surrounding the high-profile inmate was heavy, but the transfer was uneventful, the Utah Department of Corrections said.

Mohave County authorities said Jeffs will be housed in isolation for 23 hours a day, allowed out for an hour to get exercise and fresh air. He will be allowed visitation and will undergo regular medical evaluations.

Jeffs has posed a security risk. While incarcerated in Hurricane's Purgatory Jail facing trial, he attempted suicide, fasted extensively and was kept in isolation for his protection and the safety of others.

"Whenever you have an inmate like that, you know you have to take everything seriously," Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith told the Deseret Morning News.

At the Utah State Prison, Jeffs was housed in maximum security and most recently in the infirmary after going on a fast. His defense attorney said in a lawsuit deposition last week that Jeffs also had bloody sores on his knees from spending so much time praying.

Jeffs, 52, was serving two five-to-life sentences in prison following his conviction last year on two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He performed a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.

One case against Jeffs was dismissed because the alleged victim tried to blackmail another defendant, Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith said. Another was dropped because prosecutors couldn't prove the offense occurred in Arizona.

"Of the three remaining cases, two of them may very likely go to trial and the third case is dependent on the desires of the victim who has previously refused to testify against a co-defendant and may very well be unwilling to do so again," Smith said.

One of the victims in the remaining cases is Elissa Wall, who was Washington County's star witness in its case against Jeffs.

"We are glad to see that the prosecution efforts in Mohave County are proceeding," said Greg Hoole, an attorney representing Wall and another victim.

Asked if they remain willing to cooperate, Hoole told the Deseret Morning News, "They are prepared."

Mike Piccarreta, Jeffs' defense attorney in Arizona, has sought to get the case transferred to another jurisdiction, fearful that the pre-trial publicity would harm Jeffs' right to a fair trial.

In addition to the Arizona charges, Utah's attorney general has been conducting investigations into Jeffs and the Fundamentalist LDS Church. A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City has also indicted him on charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosection, stemming from Jeffs' time on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Wednesday, February 27, 2008
 
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