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LeBaron, an imposing (6ft. 4-in.), darkly handsome man, seems almost totally obsessed by his religion. Rather than accept his brother Joel's view of a charitable, merciful Christ, Ervil bases his belief on a preference for the wrathful God of the Old Testament. Says Polygamist Harold Blackmore of Utah: "He's always preaching this blood and thunder stuff—you know, if people don't live the civil law [of Ervil's God], cut their heads off. He is very pugnacious, but is also a smooth-tongued type." Residents of the Mexican villages where LeBaron has been hiding out since May describe him as loco and mitad diablo (half devil).
After Joel's 1972 murder, Ervil was found guilty in Ensenada of being the "intellectual author" of the crime and was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Ervil spent twelve months in jail before a Mexican appeals court overturned the conviction. The lubricant for the reversal, according to one of Joel LeBaron's followers, was a bribe to local officials. Ervil later spent ten months in Mexican prisons while waiting to go on trial for the Los Molinos raid. But he was eventually released—once more after the intervention of some influential Mexican officials.
It was toward the end of his prison term in Mexico that Ervil came to the attention of the U.S. Secret Service. In the fall of 1976, before Ervil's release, an organization called the Society of American Patriots was formed. Letters from the group were sent to Evangelist Billy Graham and Presidential Candidate Jimmy Carter, among others, threatening them with death if they did not intercede to free Ervil. The Secret Service traced the letters back to two of Ervil's wives, who had rented a post office box in Pasadena in the society's name.
Why have law enforcement agencies been so slow in arresting Ervil? One stumbling block is that authorities have little solid evidence directly linking LeBaron to the murder conspiracies. Furthermore, since many potential witnesses are polygamists, they do not want to come forward and testify in public. Perhaps the greatest hindrance is outright terror. Says one suburban Salt Lake City investigator: "So many people are afraid of Ervil."