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PerryPeabody
 Posted:
Thu May 14, 2009 10:11 am |
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Dale Barlow expected to take stand at FLDS-related trial
Dave Hawkins, Special to the Standard-Times
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Dale Barlow, who was the target of the bogus allegations upon which the Texas YFZ search was based, was the only Arizona witness expected to testify in the suppression hearing that started Wednesday morning in San Angelo.
Barlow, 51, is a resident of Colorado City, the northern Arizona community that, along with neighboring Hildale, in southern Utah, is where the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is based.
Late Tuesday, Barlow appeared before Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steve Conn in Kingman, Ariz. Barlow told the court he had no objection and would cooperate with the subpoena to appear as a witness in the Texas suppression hearing at the Tom Green County courthouse.
Barlow remains on probation for an Arizona sex offense conviction, but Conn waived an out-of-state travel prohibition to let Barlow attend the proceedings in San Angelo.
Barlow pleaded guilty in August 2007 to conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith said Barlow was legally married to another woman when he engaged in sexual relations with an underage girl who was assigned to him as a “spiritual wife” as part of the FLDS polygamous practice and custom.
Smith said the girl was 16 or 17 years old and could not legally consent to sexual relations when she and Barlow conceived a child together. Barlow was sentenced to three years’ probation and 45 days in county jail.
Barlow’s trip to Texas was likely an exhausting odyssey. He made a five-hour drive to his Mohave County Superior Court appearance Tuesday, then had to drive two hours to Las Vegas, Nev., where he was to catch a flight to Dallas, then to San Angelo.
Smith said Arizona authorities will watch the San Angelo hearings with interest because the outcome will affect a case against 52-year-old Warren Jeffs, the FLDS spiritual leader who is now in prison and facing further prosecution.
Jeff’s defense attorney, Michael Piccarreta, filed a motion in September to suppress any evidence from the YFZ raid and prevent its introduction and use in Jeffs’ legal proceedings in Arizona. Piccarreta has alleged that the Texas raid and search were illegal and that nothing gathered as evidence at the YFZ ranch can be used against Jeffs in Arizona.
Smith said the question will be moot if the suppression motion is granted in Texas.
Otherwise, Smith said, litigation of the suppression matter will be the next significant event in Arizona pretrial proceedings for Jeffs. The FLDS prophet is charged in Arizona with two counts each of sexual conduct with a minor for separate instances in which he allegedly arranged spiritual unions resulting in illegal sex between two underage girls and their male adult relatives.
One of those relationships resulted in convictions of Jeffs in Utah on rape-as-an-accomplice charges, for which he was sentenced to five years to life in prison.
gosanangelo.com
http://tinyurl.com/puakj8
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Thu May 14, 2009 1:37 pm |
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FLDS lawyers continue argument that judge was deceived
By Matt Phinney (Contact)
gosanangelo.com
Originally published 12:06 p.m., May 14, 2009
A hearing today in the Tom Green County courthouse involving a motion to suppress evidence taken from the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado during a state raid in April 2008 recessed for lunch with little new information being presented.
The hearing is in its second day.
Gerald Goldstein, lead attorney on behalf of 10 indicted Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints members, presented 25 points he said were omitted by law enforcement when they sought a search warrant to enter the ranch. The points were taken from two large notebooks Goldstein presented to 51st District Judge Barbara Walther on Wednesday afternoon. Before calling for a recess Wednesday, Walther asked Goldstein to pare the notebooks' content down to the most important information.
Goldstein said this morning that he believes the true agenda for law enforcement was to "bring people off the ranch" and not just look for one girl.
He said that if allowed he would call Rev. Andy Anderson from the First Baptist Church of Eldorado to testify that Anderson was asked for use of the church's buses before law enforcement entered the ranch. Girls eventually were taken off the ranch in those buses.
"They were looking for an excuse to go to the ranch," Goldstein said.
Other defense attorneys were about to speak before Walther called a recess for lunch.
Attorneys for the defendants filed motions to suppress evidence involving 19 charges related to underage marriage and child abuse. The motions allege that Texas Rangers misled Walther into issuing a pair of search warrants that authorized last year's raid on the polygamous sect's Schleicher County compound, which resulted in the removal of more than 400 children, the largest such action in U.S. history.
In identical motions to suppress, the attorneys accuse Texas Ranger Lt. Brooks Long of failing to provide Walther key details that would have undermined the credibility of the initial phone calls that led to the raid.
The caller claimed to be Sarah Jessop Barlow, the 16-year-old mother of an 8-month-old child and pregnant with a second child, and the caller alleged she was being sexually and physically abused by her 50-year-old husband, whom she identified as Dale Barlow.
The calls are now believed to be a hoax, likely perpetrated by a 33-year-old Colorado Springs woman arrested on charges of making similar but unrelated calls in Colorado.
http://tinyurl.com/p9nxwn
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Thu May 14, 2009 1:37 pm |
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FLDS lawyers continue argument that judge was deceived
By Matt Phinney (Contact)
gosanangelo.com
Originally published 12:06 p.m., May 14, 2009
A hearing today in the Tom Green County courthouse involving a motion to suppress evidence taken from the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado during a state raid in April 2008 recessed for lunch with little new information being presented.
The hearing is in its second day.
Gerald Goldstein, lead attorney on behalf of 10 indicted Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints members, presented 25 points he said were omitted by law enforcement when they sought a search warrant to enter the ranch. The points were taken from two large notebooks Goldstein presented to 51st District Judge Barbara Walther on Wednesday afternoon. Before calling for a recess Wednesday, Walther asked Goldstein to pare the notebooks' content down to the most important information.
Goldstein said this morning that he believes the true agenda for law enforcement was to "bring people off the ranch" and not just look for one girl.
He said that if allowed he would call Rev. Andy Anderson from the First Baptist Church of Eldorado to testify that Anderson was asked for use of the church's buses before law enforcement entered the ranch. Girls eventually were taken off the ranch in those buses.
"They were looking for an excuse to go to the ranch," Goldstein said.
Other defense attorneys were about to speak before Walther called a recess for lunch.
Attorneys for the defendants filed motions to suppress evidence involving 19 charges related to underage marriage and child abuse. The motions allege that Texas Rangers misled Walther into issuing a pair of search warrants that authorized last year's raid on the polygamous sect's Schleicher County compound, which resulted in the removal of more than 400 children, the largest such action in U.S. history.
In identical motions to suppress, the attorneys accuse Texas Ranger Lt. Brooks Long of failing to provide Walther key details that would have undermined the credibility of the initial phone calls that led to the raid.
The caller claimed to be Sarah Jessop Barlow, the 16-year-old mother of an 8-month-old child and pregnant with a second child, and the caller alleged she was being sexually and physically abused by her 50-year-old husband, whom she identified as Dale Barlow.
The calls are now believed to be a hoax, likely perpetrated by a 33-year-old Colorado Springs woman arrested on charges of making similar but unrelated calls in Colorado.
http://tinyurl.com/p9nxwn
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Fri May 15, 2009 10:48 am |
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Witnesses called to testify in FLDS hearing
By Jennifer Rios (Contact)
gosanangelo.com
Originally published 09:56 a.m., May 15, 2009
Updated 10:06 a.m., May 15, 2009
Witnesses are being called to testify this morning in a hearing to determine whether to suppress evidence in the criminal proceedings against members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
After two days of presentations from attorneys, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther this morning issued the decision to continue with witness testimony.
Attorneys for the 10 sect members who stand accused of 19 counts involving allegations of underage marriage and child abuse have argued the search warrant issued by Walther for the April 2008 raid on their Schleicher County compound, the YFZ Ranch, was based on incomplete information presented to the judge by state authorities.
Defense attorneys have said key information was left out of affidavits from law enforcement when they sought a search warrant to enter the ranch, and they are calling for all evidence collected under the warrant to be suppressed.
A short recess was called this morning while three witnesses were summoned to court: Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran and Texas Rangers Phillip Kemp and Lt. Brooks Long.
http://tinyurl.com/pfj6zt
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| Black-Tulip
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 4:42 am |
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Texas officers defend raid on polygamous sect's ranch
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/15/2009 10:31:15 PM MDT
San Angelo, Texas » A Texas Ranger and Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran on Friday defended their work in the days before a raid on a polygamous sect's ranch, saying there was no reason to discount an apparent abuse victim's calls for help or to more aggressively seek her alleged attacker.
Shelter workers who spoke to the caller were "adamant that this girl needed help; they were adamant that this girl needed to leave the ranch," testified Texas Ranger Brooks Long.
The hearing, before 51st District Judge Barbara Walthers, is being held as part of an attack on the April 2008 search warrant she approved to enter the YFZ Ranch, home to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Attorneys for 10 FLDS men charged with counts related to bigamy and underage marriages are challenging the warrant, with 928 boxes of evidence and more than 60 computers seized from the Eldorado ranch as evidence at stake.
The state entered into evidence Friday, under seal, about 10 photos taken inside the sect's temple and described as showing beds and pedestals. Testimony continued until 10:30 p.m. Friday and the judge asked attorneys to return at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. The next witnesses are expected to include another Texas Ranger and the lead child welfare investigator.
Long said the caller who sparked the raid was credible, citing as an example her frequent use of the word "prophet," a title used for the sect's leader, Warren S. Jeffs. Her vagueness in naming her husband -- her alleged attacker -- or a hospital where she was treated was typical of domestic violence victims, he said.
The calls from "Sarah Jessop Barlow," a 16-year-old, pregnant plural wife being abused by her husband, are now believed to be a hoax staged by a Colorado woman with a history of making false abuse claims.
Once the caller identified her husband as Dale Evans Barlow -- selected from a list of men associated with the FLDS Church, read to her by hotline worker -- Long decided against contacting the man's Arizona probation officer.
Long said he had two reasons: in his experience, probation officers call offenders and alert them to such calls, and he had heard there were people sympathetic to the FLDS in the area's criminal justice system. Barlow, along with other sect members, had been prosecuted in Arizona on charges related to underage marriages.
Doran said he called Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith and Arizona authorities to gather information about Barlow, but did not ask them about Barlow's whereabouts. He also did not ask the unnamed source he often used to gather information about the FLDS, he said, explaining his charge from the Rangers did not include locating Barlow.
Doran gave the same explanation for why he did not contact ranch leader Merril Jessop or take other actions, saying his duties were narrow. "I carried out the duties I was asked to do," he said.
He acknowledged that he spoke to Barlow by phone before the raid began, but said he could not be certain whether he was speaking to the correct man.
Doran would not confirm or deny whether former FLDS member Becky Musser, formerly married to previous prophet Rulon Jeffs, was the source to whom he referred. But he did say he had more than 100 conversations with her over four years, and gave her a 45-minute tour of the sect's temple days after the investigation began.
Defense attorneys argued that a better effort by law enforcement to find and question Barlow may have prevented the raid. They also argue the state's detailed planning before the raid -- which led to the largest child welfare investigation in U.S. history -- showed their intent ranged far beyond officers' pretext of locating the abuse victim and her husband.
They have identified at least 12 witnesses they plan to call, including Barlow, law officers, a Baptist pastor and a crisis hot line employee.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12382380
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 10:31 am |
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Battle of FLDS, state attorneys continues
By Jennifer Rios (Contact)
gosanangelo.com
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints case is back to a grueling pace in a Tom Green County courthouse.
Lots of testimony. Lots of speeches. But little progress on what will happen next in 10 criminal cases stemming from the raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch in April 2008.
“I thought I made myself clear at 9 a.m.,” 51st District Judge Barbara Walther said Friday morning, as she asked attorneys to bring forth “actual evidence — not arguments — to support your case.”
Even so, as day three of a preliminary hearing dragged forward Walther was still deep in a legal battle between the state Attorney General Office and FLDS attorneys.
Walther called a recess to Friday’s marathon hearing about 10:15 p.m. It started at 9 a.m. with anticipation of an early morning ruling. The hearing will resume at 8:30 a.m. today [Saturday].
Attorneys for 10 men in the polygamist sect who face charges want Walther to throw out evidence gathered on the basis of a pair of search warrants issued for the raid that led to the removal of more than 400 children from the ranch near Eldorado.
That raid included removal of masses of documents and digital records.
The FLDS attorneys argue that law enforcement intentionally omitted information while seeking the warrants from Walther.
Texas Ranger Lt. Brook Long testified Friday that authorities had to act on a call they received about abuse at the YFZ Ranch, discovering only later that the call was a hoax.
“We did not know that (the call was a hoax). We thought it was happening,” Long said. “We had a duty to act.”
Much of the day was spent on the call that triggered the raid. The caller claimed to be 16-year-old Sara Jessop Barlow, who had a child and was pregnant with another child. The caller identified her husband as Dale Evans Barlow, 49.
State prosecutors have said officers legitimately believed at the time that a 16-year-old pregnant girl was in danger at the ranch.
Earlier in the hearing, defense attorney Gerald Goldstein acknowledged that he had no evidence law enforcement knew the calls were a hoax, but there were details that should have raised suspicions and should have at least been shared with Texas District Judge Barbara Walther before she issued the warrant.
Defense attorneys want the evidence from the raid, which included family photos and church documents that appear to show underage marriages, barred from their trials.
The evidence suppression motion covers 10 of the 12 FLDS men who have been indicted on charges including sexual assault of a child and bigamy. The motion doesn’t cover jailed sect leader Warren Jeffs, who awaits trial in Arizona on charges of being accomplice to rape, and another sect member who faces only misdemeanor charges.
Law enforcement raided the ranch after someone claiming to be a 16-year-old mother and wife said she was being physically abused at the ranch. Later, it turned out that “Sarah Barlow,” as the caller was identified, didn’t exist. The name of the alleged husband on the search warrants was offered by a domestic abuse hot line worker who did an Internet search for “Barlow” and found stories about a previous case involving a sect member in Arizona.
The Texas Rangers have since named a 34-year-old Colorado Springs, Colo., woman as a “person of interest” in the hot line calls. The Colorado Springs woman, Rozita Swinton, has a history of multiple personality disorder and faked reports of abuse to law enforcement. She faces a misdemeanor charge of making a false report in a separate incident in Colorado. She has not been charged in Texas.
The FLDS, which believes polygamy brings glorification in heaven, is a breakaway sect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/may/15/battle-flds-state-attorneys-continues/
Last edited by PerryPeabody on Sat May 16, 2009 11:02 am; edited 1 time in total
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| woebedamned
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 10:43 am |
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"Once the caller identified her husband as Dale Evans Barlow -- selected from a list of men associated with the FLDS Church, read to her by hotline worker -- Long decided against contacting the man's Arizona probation officer."
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So the caller didnt even know the name of her husband, yet the call was taken seriously?
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Damn it All!!!!
Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 9386
Location: Not one of the "Cool Kids" AKA "Nut Case"
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 11:06 am |
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| woebedamned wrote: | "Once the caller identified her husband as Dale Evans Barlow -- selected from a list of men associated with the FLDS Church, read to her by hotline worker -- Long decided against contacting the man's Arizona probation officer."
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So the caller didnt even know the name of her husband, yet the call was taken seriously? |
Yep. A lot of things don't make sense unless the state had them on their "to do" list and wanted to get in the compound by any means to have a look around.
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| Black-Tulip
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 11:08 am |
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| woebedamned wrote: | "Once the caller identified her husband as Dale Evans Barlow -- selected from a list of men associated with the FLDS Church, read to her by hotline worker -- Long decided against contacting the man's Arizona probation officer."
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So the caller didnt even know the name of her husband, yet the call was taken seriously? |
LOL woebe, it's quite obvious for anyone with a little common sense that the call was a hoax.
So either they knew it or they are indeed stupid.
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| woebedamned
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 11:09 am |
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| PerryPeabody wrote: |
Yep. A lot of things don't make sense unless the state had them on their "to do" list and wanted to get in the compound by any means to have a look around. |
Doesnt seem legal to me. She wasnt even asked for a physical description...just given a list of names and told to pick one. Scarey operation, IMO.
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Damn it All!!!!
Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 9386
Location: Not one of the "Cool Kids" AKA "Nut Case"
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 11:14 am |
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| woebedamned wrote: |
Doesnt seem legal to me.. |
In a perfect world, it's not.
| Quote: | | She wasnt even asked for a physical description...just given a list of names and told to pick one. Scarey operation, IMO. |
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| Black-Tulip
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 11:36 am |
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http://heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/2009/05/flds-may-09_09.html
...
A pregnant teen with broken bones ought to raise the eyebrows of sensible people, and this teen would have stood out, with her long, braided hair and typical FLDS dress. She'd have been memorable.
...
Hospitals keep records, and if they'd treated a pregnant teen with broken bones the month 'Sarah' claimed to have been treated, there'd have been a record, and it's not that big of a hospital. So why, I've wondered, didn't anybody bother to investigate that to confirm the story?
...
Well, they did. And there was nothing to confirm the story.
Ranger Long,
"despite checking, was unable to verify her claim of recent treatment at the Schleicher County Medical Center,"
So he appears to have left that little detail out of his request for a search warrant, leaving in his request only such information as could be found on google ...
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Sat May 16, 2009 12:53 pm |
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Judge imposes time limit as FLDS bid to get evidence hearing moves into fourth day
gosanangelo.com
By Michael Kelly
Saturday, May 16, 2009
In Courtroom A on the second floor of the Tom Green County courthouse, attorneys for 10 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints continued this morning to press their case to get a hearing to suppress evidence that might be used against their clients, who are accused of crimes involving underage marriage and child abuse.
It is the fourth day of the session, and 51st District Judge Barbara Walther opened proceedings by imposing a time limit.
"One hour per side per witness," she said.
Defense attorney Kent Schaffer called Texas Ranger Sgt. Phillp Kemp, who confirmed information in reports regarding Rosita Swinton, the woman now known to have made the hoax call to a San Angelo shelter for battered women that ultimately led to the April 3, 2008, raid on the polygamous sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch.
In addition to removing more than 400 children from the ranch on fears that they were in danger of sexual abuse, authorities also took out masses of documents and digital records, some of which could become evidence in the criminal cases against the 10 members facing charges.
Their attorneys are seeking a hearing to argue that the evidence was obtained on a search warrant based on a hoax and therefore can't be admitted at trial.
Kemp acknowledged in brief answers to Schaffer's lengthy questions that cell phone records obtained after the raid showed an array of calls from four cell phone numbers traced to Swinton, who lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., including calls to NewBridge Family Shelter in San Angelo, a shelter in Everett, Wash., and former sect member Flora Jessop in the days before the raid.
Kemp also testified that Texas law enforcement authorities learned that Swinton had an extensive record of such vexatious calls. She posed as Sarah Barlow, a 16-year-old girl living on the YFZ Ranch, mother to one child and pregnant with another, who claimed to have been abused by her husband, Dale Barlow, in calls to both the San Angelo and Everett shelters, Kemp testified. Swinton, Kemp said he was told by Colorado authorities, had posed variously as persons named Erica, April and Jennifer in calls reporting she had been raped, forced into incest, forced to have multiple abortions, and held against her will in a basement by drug dealers.
In the call to Flora Jessop, Swinton pretended to be Sarah Barlow's sister, Laura, Kemp said.
The information came out after the raid, Kemp said, and he learned about it when he was sent to Colorado on April 16, 2008, to consult with authorities there.
It was only in the days after the raid that authorities determined that no such person as Sarah Barlow existed, the state has said.
The defense is attempting to persuade Walther that the state didn't include critical information about the Swinton ruse when it sought warrants to search the ranch, and is presenting arguments that include the Swinton phone records and the absence of medical records at the Schleicher County Medical Center that would have confirmed the abuse Swinton described to shelter workers.
Walther is inextricably involved in the case, having issued the original warrants, presided over the mass custody hearings after the raid, and now being called upon to decide whether she was adequately briefed before issuing the warrants.
The session may continue into the afternoon. Defense attorney Jerry Goldstein informed the court that one witness, retired probation officer Bill Loader, is being brought to San Angelo from out of state and is not expected to arrive until late in the afternoon.
Before a late morning break, the defense had also called for brief testimony a private investigator from San Francisco it had hired.
Walther kept her promise to watch the time, reminding Schaffer when his time with Kemp was half gone.
Later, she and the lead attorney had this exchange:
Walther: "Ready, Mr. Goldstein?"
Goldstein: "A moment, your honor."
Walther: "It's your clock."
http://tinyurl.com/ovc53t
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Posts: 1600
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Sun May 17, 2009 11:00 am |
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Written briefs OK in FLDS case
By Michael Kelly
gosanangelo.com
Saturday, May 16, 2009
It’s over, but it goes on.
At the end of a four-day session, concluding with an 11-hour sitting on Saturday, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther allowed attorneys from all sides in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints bid to get an evidence suppression hearing to submit written briefs in lieu of closing arguments.
Walther gave the defense team 30 days and the state three weeks, giving both what they requested at the end of the proceedings.
Attorneys for 10 members of the polygamous sect pressed their case to get a hearing to suppress evidence that might be used against their clients, who are accused of crimes involving underage marriage and child abuse.
Walther opened the Saturday proceedings by imposing a time limit.
“One hour per side per witness,” she said.
Defense attorney Kent Schaffer called Texas Ranger Sgt. Phillp Kemp, who confirmed information in reports regarding Rosita Swinton, the woman now known to have made the hoax call to a San Angelo shelter for battered women that ultimately led to the April 3, 2008, raid on the polygamous sect’s Yearning for Zion Ranch.
In addition to removing more than 400 children from the ranch on fears they were in danger of sexual abuse, authorities also took out masses of documents and digital records, some of which could become evidence in the criminal cases against the 10 members facing charges.
Their attorneys are seeking a hearing to argue that the evidence was obtained on a search warrant based on a hoax and therefore can’t be admitted at trial.
Kemp acknowledged in brief answers to Schaffer’s lengthy questions that cell phone records obtained after the raid showed an array of calls from four cell phone numbers traced to Swinton, who lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., including calls to NewBridge Family Shelter in San Angelo, a shelter in Everett, Wash., and former sect member Flora Jessop in the days before the raid.
Kemp also testified that Texas law enforcement authorities learned that Swinton had an extensive record of such vexatious calls. She posed as Sarah Barlow, a 16-year-old girl living on the YFZ Ranch, mother to one child and pregnant with another, who claimed to have been abused by her husband, Dale Barlow, in calls to both the San Angelo and Everett shelters, Kemp testified. Swinton, Kemp said he was told by Colorado authorities, had posed variously as people named Erica, April and Jennifer in calls reporting she had been raped, forced into incest, forced to have multiple abortions, and held against her will in a basement.
In the call to Flora Jessop, Swinton pretended to be Sarah Barlow’s sister, Laura, Kemp said.
The information came out after the raid, Kemp said, and he learned about it when he was sent to Colorado on April 16, 2008, to consult with authorities there.
It was only in the days after the raid that authorities determined that no such person as Sarah Barlow existed, the state has said.
Other witnesses Saturday included:
-Jane Mitchell, the Schleicher County appraiser, who testified she had been allowed access to the YFZ Ranch for tax appraisal work, but only under escort with Sheriff David Doran and only by prior arrangement.
-Steve Mild, operations captain for the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office, who testified about the briefing given by Texas Ranger Brooks Long before the raid on the ranch, at which Mild said the groups arrayed to go in were told to expect to remove 20 to 25 children. The operational plan, however, was for law enforcement to secure the perimeter of the ranch while authorities went in to search for Sarah Barlow and Dale Barlow.
-Bill Loader, who flew in from Utah and arrived at the court about 6 p.m. Loader, who in April 2008 was Dale Barlow’s probation officer, testified that Barlow had left a message for him regarding contact with law enforcement. Barlow told him he had been contacted by Doran regarding the Sarah Jessop allegations. State attorneys introduced documents indicating that a search of Barlow’s home in Arizona was based on a call from Swinton, who was again pretending to be Sarah Barlow’s sister, Lori.
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/may/16/written-briefs-ok-flds-case/
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Sun May 17, 2009 11:05 am |
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Texas ranger testifies in FLDS probe
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/17/2009 09:02:14 AM MDT
San Angelo, Texas » A Texas Ranger testified it took him two days to link calls that triggered the largest child welfare investigation in U.S. history to a known prankster -- something he could have done before authorities entered a polygamous sect's ranch if a supervisor had requested it.
And a probation officer for the suspect named in the state's search warrant said he would have immediately arranged to turn the man over if Texas authorities had asked.
But no one contacted him.
A hearing aimed at suppressing evidence against 10 FLDS men facing charges related to bigamy and underage marriage ended with no rulings from 51st District Judge Barbara Walther.
Instead, she gave defense attorneys 30 days to submit written closing arguments and the state 21 days to respond before she rules on the matter.
At stake is evidence contained in 928 boxes and 66-plus computers taken from the sect's Yearning For Zion Ranch last April that the state used to indict the men, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The investigation at the ranch was triggered by a caller who claimed to be a 16-year-old plural wife who was being beaten and raped at the ranch by her husband. Those calls are now believed to be a hoax.
Over four days, the mens' attorneys presented evidence they say shows law officers did nothing to verify the abuse calls or locate the alleged abuser, but used the calls as a pretext to stage a massive search for evidence of child abuse.
Prosecutors say that at the time of the raid, officers believed a young girl was being beaten and held captive there and put together a prompt, safe plan to find her.
The defense called eight witnesses Saturday; Walther refused to let a ninth, law professor Gerald S. Reamey, testify.
Reamey is a former legal advisor to the Irving, Texas, police department and author of "A Peace Officer's Guide to Texas Law" and several other law enforcement texts. Defense attorneys wanted Reamey to share minimal practices officers might be expected to follow in similar situations. State prosecutors objected, citing Reamey's lack of experience as an officer.
The judge did hear from an officer who said he was contacted two days before she signed the initial search warrant on April 3.
Steve Mild, an operations captain for the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office, said he was asked about use of a mobile command center. He said Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran told him before the operation began that authorities planned to remove 20 to 25 children from the ranch.
Another officer, Texas Ranger Aaron Grigsby, said he arranged on the morning of April 3 to close air space over the ranch in preparation for the "most massive search" he'd ever encountered.
Walther signed the warrant about 5:50 p.m. that evening and authorities entered the ranch about three hours later.
Doran testified Friday he received a call from someone purporting to be Dale Evans Barlow, the man named in the warrant just before going on the ranch.
Doran said he questioned the caller about his height, weight, eye color, hair color, social security number and drivers license number. Everything matched, but Doran said he could not verify the caller was Barlow.
Former Mohave County Probation Officer Bill Loader told the judge that Barlow left him a message that night requesting to meet immediately. Loader said Barlow came to his office the next day and that he arranged daily, in-person contact to monitor his whereabouts.
No one from Texas ever contacted him, Loader said. If they had, he could have picked up Barlow immediately without a warrant because of his probationary status.
Texas Ranger Phillip Kemp said Saturday he was asked on April 14 to investigate calls to the New Bridge Family Center that triggered the investigation.
Kemp said his investigation connected the calls to Rozita Swinton, a Colorado woman with a history of making false abuse reports.
Kemp traveled to Colorado Springs on April 16 and met with police there who filled him in on Swinton's history. He later participated in a search of her apartment, where officers found notes and materials that referenced FLDS members, the Eldorado ranch, the hot line crisis workers, the Tom Green County Courthouse, the LDS Church and a math calculation in which 16 was subtracted from 2008.
"Based on evidence we found at the apartment, she had spent some" time studying the sect, Kemp said.
Kemp said he began reviewing Swinton's phone records in May 2008 and found numerous calls to the crisis hotline beginning March 29 and, a day later, to anti-polygamy activist Flora Jessop. Jessop arranged three-way calls with the crisis center and Swinton, who claimed to be "Sarah Barlow Jessop's" sister in those conversations, Kemp said.
Kemp also found a 90-second call from Doran's cell phone to Swinton on April 8, 2008. Doran never told rangers he had the number until Kemp asked him about it.
The sheriff said he heard only silence in the 90-second call.
Also on Saturday, an investigator for Goldstein testified that he checked with the Schleicher County Medical Center and learned no one from law enforcement had ever attempted to verify the caller's claim of being treated there for broken ribs. That contradicts testimony by Long, who said that was done by the district attorney's office.
http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_12386161
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| gwen
Posted:
Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:58 pm |
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Deadline Nears for Settlement in Polygamist $114 Million Trust Dispute
SALT LAKE CITY — Despite some 40 hours of negotiations, it's unlikely a settlement can be reached by Monday in a dispute over a property trust once run by polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs, Utah's attorney general said.
The $114 million United Effort Plan Trust is an arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It holds most of the land and homes in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., as well as a church enclave in Bountiful, British Columbia.
The Utah courts took control of the trust in 2005 after allegations of mismanagement by Jeffs, who was on the run from criminal charges in Utah and Arizona.
The FLDS has been negotiating a settlement with the attorneys general of Utah and Arizona and with a court-appointed accountant to regain control of the trust. A proposed settlement is due Monday to 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Friday his office and attorneys for the FLDS were close to a deal that would return control of most of the trust's holdings back to the church.
He said his office expects to submit that proposal to Lindberg on Monday, even though neither Arizona's attorney general nor court-appointed accountant Bruce Wisan had agreed to it.
Shurtleff said he didn't know whether Wisan and Arizona would submit their own proposals or simply object to the proposal his office submits to the court.
FLDS attorneys Rod Parker and Ken Okazaki said they were hopeful that a joint proposal could be filed Monday, but they acknowledged they were "not close" to resolving differences with Wisan and Arizona's attorney general.
The UEP trust was founded in the 1940s on a religious principle called the Holy United Order, which calls for the sharing of assets and a communal lifestyle that benefits all who follow the tenets of the FLDS faith.
Wisan has converted the trust into a secular entity and allowed former church members to return to the community to claim their share of assets.
At the direction of Jeffs, church members have largely ignored Wisan's management of the trust and have cooperated with him only when threatened with evictions.
Jeffs was convicted in 2007 of two felony counts of rape as an accomplice for his role in an arranged marriage involving a then-14-year-old follower in Utah. He is in an Arizona jail and faces criminal charges in that state and Texas related to other underage marriages.
With their leader jailed, church members sued to regain control of the trust last fall when Wisan proposed selling off land set aside for a temple.
The FLDS follows the early teachings of Joseph Smith Jr., founder of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the practice of polygamy, which is believed to bring glorification in heaven. The mainstream Mormon church abandoned the practice in 1890 as a condition of Utah's statehood.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526270,00.html
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AKA Gagal_05
Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 22409
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| Tonk
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:40 am |
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| PerryPeabody wrote: |
Yep. A lot of things don't make sense unless the state had them on their "to do" list and wanted to get in the compound by any means to have a look around. |
Yes, they do make sense when you know the whole story. You're getting the watered down , spun out version of testimony from reporters who are either not paying attention or are intentionally presenting the story with bias.
It is not true that the caller was "fed" the first and last name of the "husband." The calls were incredibly detailed and were corroborated with a great deal of known information and other information that was checked. It may be true that a piece of information here or there could not be verified, but that does not take away probably cause.
It's probable cause, not absolute proof. A warrant is an investigative tool, not the culmination of the investigation. There is not a person alive who would have listened to those calls and concluded it was a hoax. Could there have been a slight suspicion from someone who took one of the calls that something didnt add up? Sure. That does not mean there's not probable cause. Everyone working on this at the beginning -- the shelter workers who took the calls, the sheriff, the rangers, DPS, CPS -- everyone believed it was a real call. Even the defense attorneys admitted in open court that they had no evidence to suggest that anyone believed it was a hoax when the call came in.
Have a look at the actual affidavits from the shelter workers and compare it to what was reported, and you'll see that the media is not reporting facts.
http://texasflds.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/outcry-dale-barlow/
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Joined: 25 Jul 2006
Posts: 984
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| PerryPeabody
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:34 am |
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Tonk-
It is not necessary for you to cite your own website; I am familiar with it and the information on it.
It is also not necessary for you to explain to me what a warrant is or what standards are necessary to obtain a lawful warrant; I am familiar with those too.
Thank you anyway.
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Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 1600
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| Tonk
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 12:31 pm |
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Perry --
It's not my website but there is a lot of information there. My comment as really directed more toward whoever you were responding to. I am aware that you know the law -- my point was, conclusions are made based on inaccurate media reports. I wouldnt fault anyone for that, other than the media.
Have a great afternoon...
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Joined: 25 Jul 2006
Posts: 984
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| Guest
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:46 pm |
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Perry,
What Tonk was saying was correct. In four corners of the affidavits, there are numerous facts that support the finding of probable cause, and the lead defense attorney, Gerald Goldstein, admitted in court that there was no evidence that law enforcement knew that the call was a hoax. As I am sure you are aware, one must present some sort of evidence in a motion to suppress....
Additionally, there was extremely detailed information that the caller provided in the numerous calls. Having seen some of the background information, there is no doubt in my mind that the Rangers truly believed that there was in fact a 'Sarah' and that she was in fact being abused.
I would be very skeptical of the information that some reporters, such as the one whose article you quoted earlier, put out. Some of it is extremely biased towards the FLDS spin, to the point of downplaying or ignoring facts that support the warrant or the way the case is going.
IIRC, she also said that Warren was going to be acquitted in Utah (although I could be mistaken)....
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| Tonk
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:53 pm |
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Hey TxBluesMan. Sounds like you have information that has not been reported in the mainstream. Did you participate in the hearing or can you disclose where you are getting the information?
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Joined: 25 Jul 2006
Posts: 984
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| Guest
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:01 pm |
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No, I did not participate in the hearing, but I have discussed it with several individuals that were present in the courtroom. All of them noted that Judge Walther was extremely irritated about the fake SWAT photo that the FLDS tried to pass off as authentic, and commented on the lack of evidence presented by Goldstein and Co....
In addition, I have been provided numerous documents and records on the matter that supports the view of law enforcement.
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| Tonk
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:04 pm |
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Thanks for the info and glad to see you posting here. I enjoy your blog as well.
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Joined: 25 Jul 2006
Posts: 984
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| Black-Tulip
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:09 pm |
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| TxBluesMan wrote: | No, I did not participate in the hearing, but I have discussed it with several individuals that were present in the courtroom. All of them noted that Judge Walther was extremely irritated about the fake SWAT photo that the FLDS tried to pass off as authentic, and commented on the lack of evidence presented by Goldstein and Co....
In addition, I have been provided numerous documents and records on the matter that supports the view of law enforcement. |
 Solitary man.
Sorry, but this is too funny!
BTW - welcome.
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Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 6981
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| Tonk
Posted:
Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:49 pm |
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| Black-Tulip wrote: |
Solitary man.
Sorry, but this is too funny!
BTW - welcome. |
I don't get it 
Nice to see you BT 
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