Sect leader back in Arizona after LV hospital stay

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was back in custody in Kingman, Ariz., on Wednesday night after being released from Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said.

But his condition or illness remains a mystery as officials would not comment on the reason why he is receiving medical attention.

Mohave County, Ariz., Sheriff Tom Sheahan said jail staff members Tuesday noticed that the 52-year-old Jeffs looked ill.

"He apparently had a fever and was very lethargic and acted like he was in a convulsive or shaking state, and that's why we transported him" to Kingman Regional Medical Center, the sheriff said. Jeffs later was taken that day to Sunrise.

Jeffs has had no medical issues of any consequence since he was jailed Feb. 26 in Kingman, Sheahan said.

Trish Carter, a spokeswoman for the sheriff, said Jeffs had "sporadic eating habits" and might have lost weight in the 133 days he was held in the Mohave County jail in Kingman.

But Carter said she could not say Jeffs had been fasting as he did while jailed in Utah over the past two years.

Jeffs is charged in Arizona with four counts of sexual conduct with a minor as an accomplice, stemming from the marriages of two girls. He also had been charged with four counts of incest as an accomplice, but the charges were dropped last month.

In dropping the charges, Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steven Conn found that Arizona's incest law does not apply to the arranged marriages of two teenage girls and their older male relatives.

The lead attorney in Jeffs' Arizona case, Mike Piccarreta of Tucson, Ariz., did not respond to inquiry about Jeffs' health or medical status.

Review-Journal correspondent Dave Hawkins and The Associated Press contributed to this report.