Jeffs will go to Arizona by the end of February
 
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
Warren Jeffs

Warren Jeffs

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs will soon be extradited to Arizona, authorities said.

"Our latest information is it will be sometime by the end of February," said Utah Department of Corrections spokeswoman Angie Welling.

Police and prosecutors in Arizona are preparing for Jeffs' arrival.

"This is still in process but we hope it won't be too much longer," Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith said in a recent e-mail.

Jeffs waived his right to appear at an April hearing in 5th District Court in St. George, where his Utah criminal defense attorneys will argue a motion for a new trial.

"It is my understanding that the state of Arizona intends to extradite me before April 24, 2008, to face criminal charges in that state," Jeffs said in court papers. "I have previously waived my right to oppose extradition to Arizona."

A hearing date has not been set in the Arizona cases against Jeffs, which accuse him of performing child bride marriages. Jeffs is also facing a federal charge in Utah of unlawful flight to avoid prosection, stemming from his time on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

Jeffs was convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice stemming from a marriage he performed between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. He was sentenced in November to a pair of terms of 5-years-to-life in prison.

Since his sentencing, Jeffs has been housed at the Utah State Prison. Most recently, he has been kept in the prison's maximum security housing unit.

"Security is a concern, particularly with a high-profile inmate," said Welling. "We won't release details of how he will be transported or exactly when."

Contributing: Aaron Royster, Kingman Daily Miner

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Tuesday, February 12, 2008
 
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