Former bodyguard buys Cadillac that polygamist leader Warren Jeffs rode in during arrest

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2006, file photo, polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs appears in a courtroom surrounded by guards, in Las Vegas. The red Cadillac Escalade used by Jeffs when he tried to flee authorities will be for sale in St. George. The Spectrum reports that the Escalade and the credit cards, gift cards and other items found inside it will be auctioned off. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch, File) (The Associated Press)

Warren Jeffs' former bodyguard has purchased the SUV the imprisoned polygamist leader was riding in when he was arrested nearly a decade ago.

The Spectrum newspaper in St. George reports (http://bit.ly/1GIl0TW ) that Willie Jessop paid $30,000 for the 2007 red Cadillac Escalade and $50,000 for the belongings in the vehicle at a public auction Monday in the Utah city.

Jessop, who left the polygamous sect several years ago, says he plans to display the car at a sprawling compound built for Jeffs that Jessop converted into a bed-and-breakfast on the Utah-Arizona border. He says it will help bring closure for people who no longer belong to the sect.

Jeffs is imprisoned in Texas, where he is serving a life term for sexually assaulting underage girls he considered brides.