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Leader of Polygamous Breakaway Sect is Arrested After a Year on the Run Leader of Polygamous Breakaway Sect is Arrested After a Year on the Run
(about 1 hour later)
Lyle Jeffs, the leader of a polygamous breakaway sect of the Mormon Church, has been arrested nearly a year after he slipped out of home confinement in Salt Lake City where he is facing fraud and money laundering charges, the authorities said on Thursday.Lyle Jeffs, the leader of a polygamous breakaway sect of the Mormon Church, has been arrested nearly a year after he slipped out of home confinement in Salt Lake City where he is facing fraud and money laundering charges, the authorities said on Thursday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement on Twitter that Mr. Jeffs, the de facto leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was arrested in South Dakota on Wednesday night and was in custody. It gave no immediate details about how authorities found him. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement on Twitter that Mr. Jeffs, the de facto leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was arrested in South Dakota on Wednesday night and was in custody. Officials said that the authorities, acting on a tip, had found Mr. Jeffs living out of a Ford pickup truck in Yankton, a city of about 14,000 people on the Missouri River.
“We knew that this was just a matter of time,” said Eric Barnhart, the special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City Division of the F.B.I. “He spent that whole time I am sure looking over his shoulder,” he told a televised news conference.
Mr. Barnhart said the department would not identify the tipster unless given permission by that person, but he said it was a “good story.” But he said the person matched the man in the truck with Mr. Jeffs’s description, took down the vehicle information, and then alerted the authorities.
Mr. Jeffs, who was alone, did not resist arrest and he confirmed his identity when asked by the arresting authorities.
In February 2016, Mr. Jeffs, 57, and 10 other leaders and members of the renegade sect, which embraces practices that have been renounced by the Mormon Church, were indicted on felony counts involving money laundering and a scheme to divert millions of dollars in food-stamp transactions.In February 2016, Mr. Jeffs, 57, and 10 other leaders and members of the renegade sect, which embraces practices that have been renounced by the Mormon Church, were indicted on felony counts involving money laundering and a scheme to divert millions of dollars in food-stamp transactions.
All of the defendants pleaded not guilty. On June 9, 2016, Mr. Jeffs was released from jail by Judge Ted Stewart of the United States District Court of Utah and ordered to wear a GPS device and stay at a Salt Lake City home to await trial in October of that year.All of the defendants pleaded not guilty. On June 9, 2016, Mr. Jeffs was released from jail by Judge Ted Stewart of the United States District Court of Utah and ordered to wear a GPS device and stay at a Salt Lake City home to await trial in October of that year.
But on the weekend of June 18, he was discovered missing from the home, the F.B.I. said.But on the weekend of June 18, he was discovered missing from the home, the F.B.I. said.
On Thursday, after the F.B.I. announced he had been rearrested, the red-letter banner “Captured” was overlaid on his F.B.I. “Wanted” poster.On Thursday, after the F.B.I. announced he had been rearrested, the red-letter banner “Captured” was overlaid on his F.B.I. “Wanted” poster.
The bureau has previously said that it had received tips that he was possibly seeking shelter in communities of the sect outside Utah, including those in Canada or Mexico, and that he was considered “armed and dangerous” at the time.The bureau has previously said that it had received tips that he was possibly seeking shelter in communities of the sect outside Utah, including those in Canada or Mexico, and that he was considered “armed and dangerous” at the time.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Gary Bunt said the F.B.I. received information that Mr. Jeffs was at a business in Yankton Wednesday, KSFY television reported. On Thursday, Mr. Jeffs was listed as being held in jail in Minnehaha County, in eastern South Dakota. On Thursday, Mr. Jeffs was listed as being held in jail in Minnehaha County, in eastern South Dakota.
The U.S. Attorney for Utah, John Huber, told the news conference that Mr. Jeffs’s flight from home confinement would play a role in the upcoming prosecution of the case, but he did not provide details of any possible further charges. “It is a serious offense to flee justice and we do not take it lightly,” he said.
Mr. Jeffs is the brother of Warren Jeffs, the professed prophet of the sect who is serving a life sentence for the sexual assault of underage girls whom he took as his brides. Lyle Jeffs has been running the church, including its day-to-day financial affairs, in his brother’s absence, prosecutors have said.Mr. Jeffs is the brother of Warren Jeffs, the professed prophet of the sect who is serving a life sentence for the sexual assault of underage girls whom he took as his brides. Lyle Jeffs has been running the church, including its day-to-day financial affairs, in his brother’s absence, prosecutors have said.