Battle over evidence expands in Jeff case

"There's probably data that shows where assets are. We want to be able to see that," Fischer's attorney James Stewart said outside of court.

So far, Stewart said Fischer has been able to collect approximately $132,000 — mostly from what authorities seized when they arrested Jeffs' brother Seth during a traffic stop in Pueblo, Colo., last year.

Seth Jeffs later pleaded guilty in a Denver federal court to harboring a fugitive, admitting he was a courier taking money and documents to help keep his brother on the run.

"There's some money we simply want to collect," Stewart said.

Meanwhile, the Utah Attorney General's Office wants to see what the FBI seized and is considering wading into the evidence fight.

"We are absolutely interested in taking a look at what's in the papers and the computer and whether it has any evidence of any crimes committed here in Utah," spokesman Paul Murphy said.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has acknowledged his office is conducting an organized crime investigation into Jeffs and the FLDS Church.

Jeffs, 51, is scheduled to face trial in St. George's 5th District Court on two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of forcing a 14-year-old girl into a marriage with her 19-year-old cousin. Jeffs remains in the Purgatory Jail without bail.

Those aren't the FLDS leader's only criminal problems.

Across the border in Mohave County, Ariz., Jeffs is facing numerous charges accusing him of arranging child bride marriages. Federal prosecutors in Utah and Arizona also have refused to drop a warrant against him for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, threatening to seek grand jury indictments should he ever be granted bail.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com