FARMINGTON, Utah, June 20, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A Centerville man accused of kidnapping and assaulting a Davis County woman and her four teen daughters, pleaded not guilty at a Monday arraignment in 2nd District Court.
Dereck James “D.J.” Harrison, 22, and his father, Flint Wayne Harrison, 51, are facing similar charges in the May 10 incident involving a Clinton mother and her daughters.
The younger Harrison was in court Monday.
Police say the Harrisons invited the women to a barbecue as a ruse to gain control of them, restrain them with duct tape and zip ties, and beat the mother with a baseball bat while threatening the group with a shotgun. The mother and daughters were able to escape and call for help.
The elder Harrison is scheduled for an Aug. 9 pre-trial meeting.
The Harrisons also are the primary persons of interest in the death of Utah Transit Authority employee Kay Porter Ricks, 63, who disappeared with his work truck two days after the assault in Centerville.
The Harrisons were arrested May 14 in Sublette County, Wyo. Ricks’ body was found May 17 in nearby Lincoln County, Wyo., and his truck UTA work truck was found May 19 near Pinedale, Wyo.
The Harrisons are being held in the Davis County Jail, and have not yet been charged in the death of Ricks. The investigation is ongoing.
D.J. Harrison on Monday pleaded innocent to:
● Five counts of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping
● Five counts of aggravated assault
● One charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person
● One count of possession or use of a controlled substance
● One count of possession of drug paraphernalia
● Three counts of damaging a communications device
