Fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs arrested near Las Vegas
At a joint press conference outside the Las Vegas FBI headquarters, Steve Martinez, FBI special agent in charge, was joined by the director of the Nevada Department of Public Safety George Togliatti in an official announcement of Jeffs' apprehension.
Jeffs initially gave an alias to the trooper in the stop, but Togliatti said the trooper noticed the man looked similar to Jeffs, who has been on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List since May. Those lists are routinely circulated to law enforcement across the country.
The stop on Interstate 15 about five miles north of the Las Vegas Speedway was prompted when the trooper saw a 2007 red Cadillac Escalade bearing a temporary tag issued in Colorado that was partially hidden.
Jeffs was a passenger in the SUV.
Two other people in the car, one of Warren Jeffs' wives, Naomi Jeffs, and his brother Isaac Jeffs, were questioned and released.
Authorities said the pair were released after consultation with FBI counterparts in Arizona and Utah.
Although law enforcement had feared a possible violent confrontation with Jeffs — who was said to be armed and dangerous — Martinez said a preliminary search of the vehicle revealed no weapons.
Earlier, a radio news reporter on scene when the vehicle was impounded subsequent to the arrest observed a number of items that were confiscated as possible evidence.
Among them:
• 27 stacks of money each containing $2,500
• Two female wigs — blond and brunette
• 14 cell phones
• Two GPS navigation units
• A Book of Mormon
• A picture of Warren Jeffs and his father, Rulon.
It is unclear if Jeffs will go to Utah or to Arizona, where he faces sex crimes charges accusing him of forcing teenage girls into polygamous marriages with older men.
"Like anyone else, he will have the decision of whether or not he waives or fights extradition," said Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith, who filed criminal charges against Jeffs in 2005.
If Jeffs fights extradition, Utah and Arizona authorities would have to get a governor's warrant to bring him back. If he waives extradition, Smith said he would appear in court in St. George, Utah, and Kingman, Ariz. Coincidentally, one of Jeffs' followers is going on trial in Kingman today, accused of marrying a 16-year-old girl as his second wife. It was a union that was arranged by Warren Jeffs, the man considered "prophet" by the Fundamentalist LDS Church.
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