Did Jeffs Sense the Law Was Closing in on Him? by Ben Winslow, Deseret Morning News [Utah], May 13, 2006

Did Jeffs Sense the Law Was Closing in on Him?

By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News [Utah]
May 13, 2006

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635207071,00.html

Warren Jeffs seemed to know that law enforcement was closing in on the Fundamentalist LDS Church.

Warren Jeffs

"In the last moments ... the final preparation ... the storm clouds are gathering against us," he said in a secretly recorded priesthood sermon obtained by the Deseret Morning News. "Only the Lord can protect us from the trials ahead."

In the Aug. 10, 2003, Sunday meeting recorded by a member shortly before the member was excommunicated, Jeffs railed against "sinners" within his flock. Later that day, Jeffs addressed his entire congregation in Hildale and cancelled church meetings. Within months, dozens were purged from FLDS ranks.

In the priesthood sermon, Jeffs tells the men to choose sides.

"There is only one side and that is the Lord's side," he said in a monotone voice.

Law enforcement involved in the manhunt for the fugitive polygamist leader are hoping to capture him and avoid bloodshed.

"That's the big question," said Gary Engels, an investigator in the Mohave County Attorney's Office assigned to look into the goings-on in the polygamous border towns of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz. "We don't know how he'll go. If he'll go quietly or go out as a big martyr."

Jeffs was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list last week, fueling a nationwide manhunt. A $100,000 reward is also being offered for information leading to his arrest.

In Utah and Arizona, Jeffs is facing criminal charges accusing him of arranging child bride polygamous marriages. Federal prosecutors have filed unlawful flight to avoid prosecution charges against him.

Just this past week, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told the Deseret Morning News that his office has been quietly conducting an organized crime investigation into Jeffs, the Fundamentalist LDS Church and the United Effort Plan (UEP) Trust. A federal grand jury in Arizona is also reportedly investigating Jeffs and the FLDS Church.

"We do think that he certainly has the capacity for violence," said Ken Wallentine, the Utah attorney general's chief of law enforcement. "He travels with individuals who have that ability."

The polygamist leader travels with a pack of armed bodyguards, nicknamed "The God Squad" by some in Hildale and Colorado City.

"There's a chance they will fight to protect him, and that's what we don't want to have happen," Shurtleff said.

"In my opinion, we take all necessary steps with our state and local partners to ensure that any apprehension is done in safe manner," FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Tim Fuhrman said last week. "Mr. Jeffs holds the key to this. He could turn himself and surrender."

The FBI has been chasing numerous leads that have poured in across the country since placing Jeffs on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

In the 2003 tape obtained by the Deseret Morning News, Jeffs calls upon his followers to repent to keep the outside forces at bay.

"We need Heavenly Father's protection," he told priesthood holders of the FLDS Church. At the time, a polygamist police officer was facing criminal charges in St. George, and the Utah Attorney General's Office was looking more closely at the FLDS Church.

In another 2003 sermon, former followers said that Jeffs compared himself to Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who was killed by a mob in Illinois. The FLDS Church is a breakaway religion and not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"Joseph Smith turned himself in to lawful authorities. I promise I will place my name and my reputation on the security of Mr. Jeffs. He would not be a martyr in Purgatory," Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith said, referring to the name of his county jail.

Warren Jeffs attends party at Alta Academy in the late 1990s. The picture was provided by a source who asked to remain anonymous.

A siege mentality has set in along the Utah-Arizona border in the polygamous towns of Hildale and Colorado City, with many observers saying FLDS faithful have become entrenched. Former FLDS lawyer Rod Parker said putting Jeffs on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list will only cause the faithful to rally around him.

"I think from the standpoint of the people, it just reinforces how unfair and out of control this whole government approach to the church is right now," he told the Deseret Morning News. "They view the whole thing as a test of their faith."

One place where Jeffs may be in hiding is at the FLDS Church's temple site in Eldorado, Texas.

Construction continues on the YFZ Ranch. It stands for "Yearning for Zion," after a song Jeffs penned. A dairy is being built and just this past week, foundations were seen being poured on new homes. One of the largest homes on the compound is believed to belong to Jeffs.

But there's no sign of the fugitive polygamist prophet, according to police.

Law enforcement is reluctant to go onto the property without probable cause, hoping to avoid another high-profile confrontation in Texas. During the stand-off at a Branch Davidian sect compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993, more than 80 people — including two dozen children — died in a fiery siege with federal agents.

"We do have the experience of Waco and law enforcement has been trained on that incident," Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran said. "There's no reason in getting in any big hurry and trying to push the envelope."

Doran has maintained contact with FLDS members on the YFZ Ranch. When the first federal warrant was issued for Jeffs' arrest in 2005, Doran ventured onto the property in an attempt to negotiate a surrender.

"I tried to get them to cut a deal and have him turn himself in," Doran told the Deseret Morning News. "As always, they didn't express one way or another where he was."

Doran believes that by continuing a dialogue with FLDS members on the ranch, he's avoided a stand-off mentality. He continues to be allowed on the property when necessary.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com