LOGAN — Two Logan City court clerks have been arrested and federally indicted after authorities say they helped multiple individuals, including one with an active warrant, escape a courthouse to evade arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jennifer Joma, 27, and Lauren Kelsey Morrow, 26, both of Logan, were indicted by a grand jury last week. The women face federal charges of obstruction of proceedings before departments and agencies, harboring illegal aliens, and conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens. Additionally, Joma was charged with transporting illegal aliens.
The charges stem from an April 9 incident at the Logan City Municipal Justice Court, where both women were employed. According to court documents, the clerks became aware that an ICE officer was present at the courthouse to apprehend a non-citizen on an active immigration warrant.
Prosecutors allege the women subsequently misused a court database to look up the immigration status of individuals listed on the court’s docket for that day. After identifying the individuals, Joma and Morrow allegedly guided several people out of the building through a back door, ensuring they remained unseen by the waiting ICE officer.
Authorities confirmed the individual targeted by the federal warrant was among those the clerks successfully snuck out of the justice court.
The indictment further alleges that after facilitating the escape, Joma used her vehicle to drive three of the non-citizens away from the courthouse premises before returning to her job.
Both Joma and Morrow have been taken into custody following the grand jury’s indictment. The women are scheduled to make their first court appearance Thursday at the Orrin G. Hatch U.S. District Courthouse.
According to court administrators, the two women are no longer employed with the justice court.