| FLDS leader's lawyers seek tapes, witness in Texas raid | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News | |
Lawyers for Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs want Arizona prosecutors to hand over any audio or videotapes of the beginning of the raid on the polygamous sect's ranch in Texas. But Arizona prosecutors say they'll have to talk to Texas. In court papers filed Monday in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman, Ariz., Jeffs' defense attorneys Michael Piccarreta and Richard Wright say they want the tapes as part of their efforts to get any evidence seized from the YFZ Ranch tossed from his upcoming trial on sexual misconduct charges. The existence of the tapes were disclosed by Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran when he was deposed by Jeffs' attorneys last month, court filings said, and Piccarreta wants to interview him again. "These items may, in part, be inconsistent with the public positions taken by Texas law enforcement regarding the search," he wrote in a letter to Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith. In their filing, Piccarreta and Wright said the tapes will "directly support the defendant's claim that the Texas law enforcement authorities acted with reckless disregard with respect to the information in the search warrant affidavit that led the magistrate to issue the search warrants." Prosecutors agreed that Jeffs' lawyers should be entitled to the tapes but said they should not be asking Arizona for them. "Since this material is not within the possession or control of the state of Arizona, the state cannot guarantee its production but will merely make its best efforts to receive these potential recordings," Smith replied. Jeffs, 53, is serving a pair of five-to-life sentences for rape as an accomplice in Utah, convicted of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. One of the Arizona cases involves the former child bride, Elissa Wall, and Jeffs' attorneys seek to question another witness in the case again. In a separate filing, Smith asked the judge to deny a motion to depose Rebecca Musser, Wall's older sister, saying she has "not failed to cooperate in granting a personal interview in this case." Smith said Musser traveled from Boise to Salt Lake City to be interviewed in December, answering questions for 21/2 hours. "The witness did not refuse to answer any questions concerning this case except for questions involving what happened in Texas, particularly with respect to the Texas search warrant which was executed on the YFZ Ranch," he wrote. With the Texas grand jury term apparently over, Musser is free to grant a second interview to Jeffs' attorneys, Smith said, but said they have not requested to reinterview her. "A deposition is not required under the rules because Rebecca Musser will continue to cooperate (as she has done in the past) with the interview process," he wrote. Musser testified in the Utah case against Jeffs. Texas search warrants obtained by the Deseret News in September name her as someone who gave information to Doran in the years leading up to the April raid on the YFZ Ranch. Doran has not commented on whether Musser specifically was his much-publicized confidential informant, telling the Deseret News last year that "there have been several people that have been contacted." In the warrants, investigators refer to Musser providing them with information about FLDS customs and terms. The raid on the YFZ Ranch led to 439 children being taken into state protective custody while authorities investigated allegations of abuse. The children were returned two months later when a pair of Texas courts ruled state officials acted improperly. Only three children currently remain under court jurisdiction in the case, including a 14-year-old girl authorities allege was married at age 12 to Jeffs. A dozen men, including Jeffs, face criminal charges in Texas in connection with the investigation. A hearing is scheduled in May on the legality of the search warrants served on the YFZ Ranch. Lawyers in those cases recently filed motions seeking audio and videotapes, among other evidence, Schleicher County clerks said. E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com | |
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DeseretNews.com Originally published Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 | |
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