U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact
Deborah McCarley 602-650-3201

Date: August 29, 2006

Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Phoenix Division, John E. Lewis, announced today, August 29, 2006, the arrest of fugitive Warren Steed Jeffs.

It is alleged that Jeffs, the leader of a polygamous community known as the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS), preformed marriages between minors and adult males within the FLDS community. These charges originated from an investigation conducted by the Mohave County Attorney's Office in Arizona. Additional charges against Jeffs, alleging rape, were filed by the Washington County Attorney in Utah.

On June 27, 2006, a federal warrant for the arrest of Warren Jeffs was issued for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution. Additionally, Jeffs was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List on May 6, 2006.

Jeffs was detained at approximately 9:00 p.m. last night pursuant to a traffic stop by the Nevada Department of Public Safety near Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada. The traffic stop was initiated because the vehicle did not appear to have a license plate. Jeffs, though using an alias, was later identified by the FBI and taken into custody.

Special agent in Charge John E. Lewis expressed, "The FBI is grateful to the Nevada State Highway Patrol and the diligence of their Officers.

Additional information regarding Warren Steed Jeffs is available on the FBI's Internet Home Page at http://www.fbi.gov.