Abram Harker Jeffs, 37, of the YFZ Ranch, will go on trial beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 9, 2010, in the Memorial Building in Eldorado. He is facing a charge of Sexual Assault of a Child in the First Degree, and a charge of Bigamy.
The allegations against Jeffs stem from the April 2008 police raid on the YFZ Ranch. He will be the sixth defendant from the Ranch to stand trial on sexual assault charges.
ELDORADO — Lawyers for the prosecution and defense began Wednesday sifting through a pool of potential jurors for the trial of Abram Harker Jeffs. Questionaires were distributed to potential jurors as they entered the makeshift courtroom inside the Schleicher County Memorial Building.
Jeffs, 39, of the YFZ Ranch, stands accused of Sexual Assault of a Child, a first degree felony, and Bigamy. The charges stem from an alleged polygamous marriage between Jeffs and an under aged bride.
If convicted, Jeffs could face up to 99 years in prison.
Yet another YFZ Ranch resident is facing felony charges in Schleicher County.
Parley Merril Jessop, 17, of the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, was arrested Saturday evening, June 5th, and charged with Evading Arrest in a Motor Vehicle, a state jail felony.
ELDORADO — The trial of Abram Harker Jeffs finally got under way Tuesday morning in a makeshift courtroom inside the Schleicher County Memorial Building. The 39-year-old Jeffs stands accused of Sexual Assault of a Child and Bigamy. He is the sixth defendant with ties to the YFZ Ranch to come to trial since the April 2008 raid.
A long and sometimes contentious jury selection process began Wednesday, June 9th and ended Monday night after a panel of 36 prospective jurors was agreed to by prosecution and defense attorneys. From there, the panel was reduced to a jury of 12 members and two alternates with each of the legal teams striking several jurors from the panel.
Texas Attorney General’s Office spokesman Jerry Strickland confirmed Tuesday that the extradition process necessary to bring FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs to Texas is already underway. The Lone Star State may get to see Jeffs sooner than expected because the State of Arizona dropped all charges against Jeffs on Wednesday, June 9, 2010. He had been charged with two counts of Sexual Conduct with a Minor because of his involvement in arranging and performing marriages with under aged girls.
Jeffs was transferred Tuesday morning from the Mohave County Jail in Kingman, AZ, to the Utah State Prison in Draper, UT.
Abram Harker Jeffs, 37, of the YFZ Ranch, will go on trial beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 9, 2010, in the Memorial Building in Eldorado. He is facing a charge of Sexual Assault of a Child in the First Degree, and a charge of Bigamy.
ELDORADO — Lawyers for the prosecution and defense began Wednesday sifting through a pool of potential jurors for the trial of Abram Harker Jeffs. Questionaires were distributed to potential jurors as they entered the makeshift courtroom inside the Schleicher County Memorial Building.
Yet another YFZ Ranch resident is facing felony charges in Schleicher County.
ELDORADO — The trial of Abram Harker Jeffs finally got under way Tuesday morning in a makeshift courtroom inside the Schleicher County Memorial Building. The 39-year-old Jeffs stands accused of Sexual Assault of a Child and Bigamy. He is the sixth defendant with ties to the YFZ Ranch to come to trial since the April 2008 raid.
Texas Attorney General’s Office spokesman Jerry Strickland confirmed Tuesday that the extradition process necessary to bring FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs to Texas is already underway. The Lone Star State may get to see Jeffs sooner than expected because the State of Arizona dropped all charges against Jeffs on Wednesday, June 9, 2010. He had been charged with two counts of Sexual Conduct with a Minor because of his involvement in arranging and performing marriages with under aged girls.