Bail hearing canceled for FLDS men

Submitted by joshuah on Thu, 08/14/2008 - 20:29

A court hearing for four men from the Fundamentalist LDS Church’s YFZ Ranch indicted by a grand jury here was canceled after they hired lawyers and bailed out of jail.

A bail reduction request for Raymond Merril Jessop, 36; Merril Leroy Jessop, 33; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; and Michael Emack, 57, was scheduled to be heard Thursday. However, court clerks said the hearing was canceled at the last moment when attorneys entered notices of appearance, and by the fact that the men had posted $500,000 in bail nearly a week ago.

In court papers, attorneys for the FLDS men argued that the $100,000-per-charge bail was excessive and they surrendered themselves once they became aware they had been indicted.