Hildale town marshals on hot seats

The Hildale/Colorado City town marshal and one of his deputies will face an administrative judge today over their loyalties to Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs.

Marshal Fred Barlow and his deputy, Preston J. Barlow, are accused of refusing to answer investigators' repeated questions about the FLDS leader. The marshal also once wrote a letter to Jeffs, pledging his loyalty to the FLDS leader, who was a fugitive at the time.

"Dear Uncle Warren," the letter begins, and pledges the loyalty of all of the officers in the Hildale/Colorado City Town Marshal's Office.

"I love you and acknowledge you as my priesthood head," Barlow wrote. "And I know that you have the right to rule in all aspects of my live (sic). I yearn to hear from you."

According to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, Fred Barlow is accused of:

• Seeking and acknowledging previous directions on the operation of the Colorado City police office from a federal fugitive, on or about October 2005.

• Failing to answer certain questions related to his duties as a police officer when commanded by subpoena to appear in a deposition in February 2006.

• Failing to answer questions from the Arizona Attorney General's Office in March 2006. Preston Barlow is also accused of refusing to answer the attorney general's questions.

An attorney for the two marshals did not return a phone call seeking comment on Monday.

This morning's administrative review hearing in Phoenix could lead to both men losing their badges in Arizona and Utah.

"She'll come back with what we call findings of fact and conclusion of law," Arizona POST compliance manager Robert Forry said Monday. "We'll take it back to the board. The board makes a decision anywhere from no action to a suspension and a revocation."

That decision would likely come in September. The Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has said it would wait for Arizona authorities before proceeding with their case. The two states have worked closely together on their investigations into the police officers in the polygamous border towns.

Following Utah's lead, the Arizona POST board last week stripped deputy marshal Mica Barlow of his certification. Barlow refused to testify before a federal grand jury in Arizona investigating Jeffs' whereabouts and served jail time for contempt of court.