By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today
A Southern Utah couple is facing criminal charges after being accused of illegally recruiting Mexican nationals to work in a pine nut harvesting operation across Utah and Nevada.
Dayer Melchor LeBaron, 61, and his wife, Jolene Stubbs, 53, were arrested last week and booked into the Iron County Jail. Both face two counts of human trafficking for labor, with Stubbs also facing a kidnapping charge — all second-degree felonies.
According to charging documents filed in 5th District Court, LeBaron and Stubbs have operated a pine nut harvesting business for over 40 years, employing workers from both the U.S. and Mexico. The mother of the family is a U.S. citizen and the father is a Mexican national.
LeBaron and Stubbs allegedly arranged for a family of five, including a 15-year-old girl, to travel from Mexico to Beryl, Utah, with promises of wages and work.
The girl was reportedly hired as a babysitter for $1,500 per month while her parents worked in the harvesting operation.
The couple reportedly provided the father with $3,000 to facilitate his entry into the United States through a “coyote,” or human smuggler.
Though initially told they would work only through August, the family was later informed they would need to continue until at least November, possibly into January.
Court documents state Stubbs prevented the family from leaving the Beryl, Utah operation, threatening to separate them unless they worked until their “debts” were paid.
“Once the juvenile daughter’s family arrived in Beryl, Utah, the mother told Stubbs numerous times she wanted to leave, court documents state. “According to the mother, Stubbs told the mother she was not allowed to leave until the debt they had accumulated had been resolved, and if the mother did go, she would be deprived of her husband and the children.”
Police began investigating the situation after Iron County deputies were alerted to possible child abuse and neglect when one of the family’s children was hospitalized for respiratory issues.
During the investigation, police uncovered additional details about the family’s situation, including that the 15-year-old daughter had been taken to Elko, Nevada, without the parents’ knowledge.
The girl had initially been babysitting in Beryl for Stubbs, who allegedly told the mother her daughter needed to stay behind, even as the family dealt with the medical emergency.
“The mother informed investigators that her 15-year-old daughter had not been allowed to accompany the mother and the two boys to the hospital,” the affidavit states.
Law enforcement later picked the girl up and returned her to Utah, according to Iron County Prosecuting Attorney Chad Dotson.
Both LeBaron and Stubbs are reported to have ties to a faction of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamist offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) church.
LeBaron reportedly maintains dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico and has residences in both countries. The affidavit also shows Stubbs as a U.S. citizen who currently lives in Mexico. These ties to border regions raised concerns for law enforcement who requested the couple be held without bail.