Serving papers is tough in 2 polygamous towns

ST. GEORGE — Of the 17 men supposed to appear in court here to answer to an Arizona grand jury subpoena, only one has showed up.

That's because he's in jail.

Police and prosecutors are finding it increasingly difficult to serve court papers in the polygamous border towns of Hildale and Colorado City.

People hide, refuse to answer doors or vanish altogether in the desert.

"They run into that frustration sometimes that people won't answer the doors. It appears people are there but they're not willing to answer doors or cooperate," deputy Washington County Attorney Jerry Jaeger told the Deseret Morning News on Wednesday.

Thomas V. Barlow has so far been the only one to show up to court to answer to a subpoena to testify before an Arizona grand jury reportedly investigating financial mismanagement within the Colorado City Unified School District. He was already in jail on an unrelated charge.

On Wednesday, a judge said Barlow can testify if Arizona can transport him to the courthouse to appear before their grand jury.

Meanwhile, subpoena serving is slow going in Hildale and Colorado City. Even the Arizona Attorney General himself has been unsuccessful at it.

"In the middle of the week and no one is in City Hall," Terry Goddard told the Deseret Morning News last week. "They were avoiding us."

Washington County Sheriff's deputies are out trying to serve papers this week. Another man was successfully served with a subpoena and is expected to appear in 5th District Court today. Jaeger hopes more will appear on Monday.

"Some of them we found out they moved and are no longer in the state. Two of them, it appears, are deceased," he said. "We're still working on it."

In Salt Lake City, businesses with ties to the Fundamentalist LDS Church were served with subpoenas demanding records linked to the troubled school district.

The target of the subpoenas is Jeffrey P. Jessop, the former financial director of the Colorado City Unified School District. After the state of Arizona took control of the district, Jessop resigned in 2005 amid an investigation into financial mismanagement.

Arizona authorities have refused to talk about the grand jury investigation.

---

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com