Police serve series of warrants on residents of Colorado City
 Documents related to sex-abuse trials looming for 8 men
 
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
 
Police officers swarmed the polygamous border town of Colorado City, Ariz., Thursday, serving a series of warrants related to the upcoming sex abuse trials of eight men.

As in recent weeks, many people retreated inside their homes when 16 Mohave County sheriff's deputies, detectives, a Mohave County Attorney's special investigator and a pair of Coconino County sheriff's deputies rode into town.

"It sure makes 'em worried and concerned and panic-stricken," ex-Fundamentalist LDS Church member Ross Chatwin said Thursday.

The officers were serving four search warrants simultaneously in Colorado City as part of an ongoing investigation into sex-abuse cases within the community. Police did not waste time and did not notify anyone in the town of their plans.

"We did it for the officers' safety, No. 1," Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan said. "No. 2 is when you do this amount of search warrants, that would prevent individuals from calling others and destroying evidence that we are possibly looking for."

Investigators told the Deseret Morning News they served warrants to seize evidence and subpoena witnesses to appear in court. Eight men are facing trial in Arizona on charges of sexual conduct with a minor involving marriages to teenage girls. One of those men is former Hildale police officer Rodney Holm, who was convicted in Utah of unlawful sex and bigamy charges related to his polygamous marriage to a 16-year-old girl.

Mohave County Attorney's Investigator Gary Engels was seen walking out of David Bateman's home carrying a box, said ex-FLDS Church member Isaac Wyler.

"They had two cops at each home," he said. "They weren't letting anybody go."

Other witnesses said they saw police cars parked outside some of the accused men's homes with Colorado City town marshals standing by, watching.

"We had one of our officers contact them and meet us at one of the homes," Sheahan said. "They talked to the individuals there while we served the warrant."

The police in Hildale and Colorado City have been under scrutiny for their loyalties to Warren Jeffs, the fugitive leader of the FLDS Church.

Since Jeffs was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, the mood in the polygamous border towns has been increasingly tense. With more scrutiny on them than ever before, many people hide from outsiders, fences have been erected and windows have been covered with blankets to keep out prying eyes. FLDS members have been particularly reluctant to have any dealings with law enforcement.

The Mohave County sheriff said the warrants were served without incident, but he had developed contingency plans should anything go wrong.

"Our officers realize the situation is tense," Sheahan said. "We've had no problems at all."

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Friday, May 26, 2006
 
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