A judge has ordered a northern Arizona man to be jailed pending trial on accusations he destroyed or tampered with records involved in a federal investigation.
Prosecutors say Samuel Bateman is from a town connected to the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Bateman denies the federal tampering accusations.
His indictment does not say what they are in connection with. But the document alleges that he committed the crimes in late August.
State court records say Bateman also faces child abuse charges in Coconino County Superior Court in connection with a different case from the end of August.
Bateman is from Colorado City, which is located on the Arizona-Utah border.
The nearby St. George News reports that in the Arizona case Bateman was released on bail after a state trooper found three girls in an enclosed trailer during a traffic stop in Flagstaff.
