Jeffs' defense team isn't finished yet. Next month, it will challenge the traffic stop that led to the polygamist leader's arrest outside Las Vegas. The team also filed a motion Monday asking prosecutors to identify any other crimes or "wrongs" they intend to introduce at trial related to Jeffs.

Washington County prosecutors refused to comment again on a Deseret Morning News report that Jeffs had reportedly renounced his claim as "prophet" of the FLDS Church. A law enforcement source said the FLDS leader made the statement at the Purgatory Jail during a conversation with one of Jeffs' brothers.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Mohave County Attorney's Office investigator Gary Engels said he could not say whether Jeffs made the statement or if a tape of his comments was in the hands of law enforcement.

During Tuesday's hearing, Jeffs tried to smile and nod a couple of times to his faithful followers, who packed two rows of the courtroom. They refused to answer reporters' questions about Jeffs.

Private investigator Sam Brower has been pursuing Jeffs for lawyers suing the FLDS Church. Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, he said Jeffs' influence on the polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., may be waning now that the polygamist leader is behind bars.

"I've been saying he wasn't a prophet for three years," Brower said.

---

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com