The Voice of Eldorado and Schleicher County Since 1901

Arizona charges Chatwin with trespass at this own home

A "No Trespassing" sign, placed there by his brother, Stephen, greeted Ross Chatwin when he returned to his Colorado City, Arizona home last week. He was jailed by C-City police officers after he changed the locks on the apartment occupied by his brother. Chatwin, who resides in the basement living quarters of the home, was awarded a life estate to the home by Arizona Superior Court Judge James Chavez after United Effort Plan officials tried to have him evicted. He remains free on a personal recognizance bond pending a hearing on Sept. 24.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2004
Ross Chatwin, the man who stood up to FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs and went to court to win the right to stay in his Colorado City, Arizona home, was arrested last week, shortly after returning to his home following a trip to Eldorado. Interestingly, Chatwin was charged with trespassing at his own home, the very home awarded to him by Arizona Superior Court Judge James Chavez.

Chatwin was released a day later, shortly after Mohave County, Arizona, Deputy Attorney James J. Zack, Sr. reviewed the charges against him, as well as Judge Chavez's order giving Chatwin the house as a "life estate."

Chatwin had reportedly entered the upstairs apartment occupied by his brother, Stephen, and was changing the locks in hopes of keeping the man and his family out of the home, when C-City police officers Helaman Barlow and Fred Barlow were called to the scene. The officers reportedly told Chatwin they were not aware of Judge Chavez's ruling. They then arrested Chatwin as his wife, Lori, videotaped the incident.

Chatwin was taken to the Purgatory Correctional Facility at Hurricane, Utah, where he was held overnight before being transported the next morning to the town of Moccasin, Arizona where he appeared before a Justice of the Peace. At that time, a cash bond of $2,000 was set in Chatwin's case. But, before any of his friends or family could post bond, the Mohave County prosecutor ordered Chatwin released on his own recognizance. A hearing is slated for Sept. 24th in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman, Arizona.

Chatwin told the Success in a telephone interview that he looks forward to getting his day in court.

Ross Chatwin won the right to live in the home when Judge Chavez ruled on May 20th of this year that the United Effort Plan, a financial trust controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, didn't have the right to evict Chatwin from the home, following his excommunication from the church, even though the home was built on UEP property.

It was noted in trial that the UEP charter had been amended in 1998, allowing UEP trustees to evict people from their homes, but the amendment took effect after Chatwin had built a home on UEP land at 425 Uzona Street in Colorado City. Court documents indicate that the construction cost Chatwin spent some $130,000 in material and labor.

In 2001, UEP officials allowed Chatwin to exchange his Uzona St. home for another house located at 245 N. Willow Street. He and his family were allowed to move into the basement living quarters. The upper floor of the home was to be used by Chatwin for storage. But, shortly after Chatwin's excommunication from the church in late 2003, his brother Stephen reportedly received permission from FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs to occupy the upper floor of the home.

Chatwin began eviction proceedings against his brother after winning the right to stay in the home. He said that he decided to change the locks on his brother's apartment after his trip to Eldorado, Texas, where he met with local officials and took an airplane ride over the FLDS compound on the YFZ Ranch. Chatwin reportedly entered the upstairs apartment through a window and changed the locks while his brother's family was away.

Chatwin told the Success that he was not surprised by the arrest and that he even expected the FLDS dominated C-City police force to over-react when he tried to exercise his rights over his property.

The night in jail doesn't seem to have dulled Chatwin's sense of humor. The man who semi-seriously proposed building an observation tower adjacent to the YFZ Ranch during his visit to Eldorado, told the Success about this week that he wasn't very pleased with the treatment I received in the Purgatory Correctional Facility.

"I told those guys that if they don't improve their customer service they are going to lose a lot of business," Chatwin stated. "Then when I got home I saw that my brother had put up "No Trespassing' signs around my house."

A eviction hearing is slated for Oct. 18th of this year, at which time a Mohave County Judge will decide whether or not Chatwin can force his brother to move out of the home.

The Eldorado Success invites Warren Jeffs and/or other leaders of the FLDS church to comment on this or any other story surrounding the FLDS and the YFZ Ranch