FLDS neighbors wary, optimistic

By: 
Jason Ferguson

Truth be told, Karl Von Rump says the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) compound in Custer County wasn’t a horrible neighbor the last few years, and for long stretches of the entire existence of the compound, which dates back to 2006.
“They weren’t bad. When they would make noise when they were building is when they were really crappy neighbors,” Von Rump said. “But they would try to be respectful.”
Von Rump is one of several landowners with land adjacent to or close to the now former FLDS compound in southwest Custer County who have had to deal with having the compound near their property for 15 years.
Whether it was construction noise, late night traffic or curious people venturing onto their private property to gawk at the compound, compound neighbors have had to endure a lot over the years. Von Rump used to be a frequent attendee of Custer County Commission meetings, as he begged the commission to enact a noise ordinance when the compound was being constructed, as the members frequently worked around the clock on construction projects, aided by bright floodlights.
“I blew up. I blew up,” Von Rump said of his reaction when he first heard of the compound moving in.
He realized something was going on when buildings supposed to be, for instance, a simple horse barn became much larger. Then came the lights.
“They shined right up to the house,” he said. “I went nuts. I went down there and said, ‘You have to shut these lights off.’”
Those days have been over for a while now, and figure to be over permanently since the compound was sold at auction to three former FLDS members.
John Livingston, who works with Lori Lieberman, a landowner contiguous to the north side of the compound, isn’t jumping for joy, pointing out the FLDS still has a
one-year redemption period during which it could make good on the debt and reclaim the property along with other judgments against the FLDS.
“I will reserve judgment until it’s all said and done,” he said. “It will be a positive when something positive happens. The mere fact it was sold at a sheriff’s sale doesn’t indicate anything positive or negative. It’s just a step.”
Livingston points out there is an unknown as to what the men who bought the compound at auction—Patrick Pipkin, Andrew Chatwin and Seth Cooke—plan to do with the property.
“There is no definition either way. When it was FLDS, you didn’t know what they were going to do,” he said. “Now that these folks have got it, you don’t know what they’re going to do.”
Von Rump said it is his hope the land isn’t subdivided. The three men who bought the property said they don’t have definitive plans for the property.
Von Rump bought his property, which is about 300 feet from the compound, in 1999, He and wife, Suzanne, became permanent residents on the property 10 years later.
They had their run-ins with the compound over noise and other issues (such as the 6 a.m. barn cleanings, the effects of which would ride the southern breeze to the Von Rump home), but Karl points out they were also helpful at times, such as fixing up and taking care of roads, delivering care packages and helping him with other projects.
“They tried to make amends for all the noise,” he said, adding he never physically went onto the property, nor did he ever see Seth or Warren Jeffs there.
Von Rump said some of the buildings are in disarray due to lack of maintenance, which was caused by the lack of FLDS members at the compound. Since 2016 the compound was headed up by Helaman Jeffs, the son of Warren Jeffs.
Law Enforcement Response
Until its final hours as an FLDS compound, Custer County Sheriff Marty Mechaley had an open line of communication with compound residents, specifically, Helaman Jeffs. Former sheriff Rick Wheeler enjoyed that same line of communication until Feb. 23, 2016, when Wheeler helped initiate the arrest of former compound leader Seth Jeffs as he left the compound to go to Rapid City. Seth Jeffs was one of several FLDS leaders to be arrested for a food stamp fraud scheme.
Wheeler said in his 11 years as sheriff he dealt with the compound at least monthly, sometimes more, and through his relationship with leaders there pre-Jeffs arrest, he was able to get reliable information from them.
However, he believes that came with a cost. It seemed whenever FLDS leaders caught wind that the Custer County compound leader was communicating with Wheeler, they were taken out of the area.
“I think a lot of that had to do with me,” he said. “They didn’t want that closeness.”
Wheeler said the compound didn’t create a great deal more work for him, and when things usually cropped up, it was mostly civil stuff, such as neighbor complaints.
Mechaley said he was also in contact with the compound every month, and Custer County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Steve McMillin was in frequent contact with the compound as well.
After the arrest of Seth Jeffs and the subsequent arrival of Helaman Jeffs, Mechaley said he worked to reestablish a line of communication at the compound, telling Helaman, while they would never fully trust each other, they could still communicate.
“I’ve always tried to stay neutral, fair and out of the media as much as possible,” he said.
Mechaley said giving off the implication that he was out to get the FLDS in the media would have meant a severed line of communication, as FLDS members do follow media reports regarding them.
Mechaley said Helaman Jeffs was respectful in his dealings with him, making it clear they didn’t want to do anything that put them on the sheriff’s office radar.
That open line of communication also assisted ex-FLDS members, as Mechaley frequently helped them obtain personal property from the compound. Helaman would show up at the sheriff’s office with the property.
“They preferred it that way, that if anybody wanted property they could go through us and get it back for them,” Mechaley said.
Mechaley built such a strong line of communication with the compound that the women there also felt comfortable calling him, which they did whenever they would have a trespasser, which could be a rather frequent occurrence.
Mechaley first heard about the compound sale from attorneys involved, and when he went to text Helaman to discuss the issue, he was already at the sheriff’s office because he had been served papers regarding the sale as well.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Mechaley said. “I kind of watched what was going on in other states that the FLDS was fracturing apart and ex-members were obtaining properties.”
Mechaley called the auction a relief and said it is anyone’s guess what will happen at the compound now and, like Livingston, points to the year redemption period available to the FLDS. It is his belief the land will be for sale again one day, although he believes it will be reassessed and shown to have less value when that happens.
“Some of the buildings are run down,” he said.
Wheeler said he was happy the land was auctioned and is cautiously optimistic the FLDS’s time in Custer County is over.
“I think we all feel that way,” he said. “It was always kind of a bad deal when they built that down there.”

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