Warren Jeffs Pesters Sd Counties from Prison

By Derek Olson
Keloland Television
January 9, 2012

http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=125951

[with video]

BELLE FOURCHE, SD - Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs has been behind bars since last August when he was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting two young girls. But, as Butte County officials are discovering, incarceration isn't silencing the controversial leader.

In early December, letters from Jeffs began arriving at the Butte County Courthouse. At first, they were handled like any other piece of mail.

"The first time they came, I did give them to my commissioners," Butte County Auditor Elaine Jensen said.

The letters, which contain some dire jailhouse prophecies from Jeffs, were promptly rejected by the Butte County Commission. But, the packages continued to arrive.

"By the third time I'd received them, I realized that I had a pattern. That's when I contacted the Butte County Sheriff," Jensen said.

"It isn't being ignored by us. We're aware that it's there. We're dealing with it, but it's not anything that we're interested in or buying into," Butte County Sheriff Fred Lamphere said.

And Butte County officials say Warren Jeffs is not a pen pal they're interested in having.

"If I receive any more I'm just supposed to refuse them," Jensen said.

"I don't know if they will get sent back directly to the sender. But, we do not have to receive them as a mail article," Lamphere said.

County officials aren't sure why the church has been reaching out them. The nearest FLDS compound is close to 100 miles away near Pringle.

"We haven't had any indication that there are any extremists, religious or otherwise, that are developing a core within our community," Lamphere said.

Still, the packages keep coming.

"Last week, I received two more packages on Thursday and another on Friday," Jensen said.

That means Jensen likely hasn't seen the last of the phrase "return to sender."

Officials from Harding, Custer and Marshall counties have also received mailings from Jeffs. They are sent from the FLDS sect in Colorado City, Arizona