Dereck “DJ” Harrison, the man accused of killing a Utah Transit Authority (UTA) worker and dumping his body off a dirt road near Kemmerer, has been extradited from a Utah jail to the Lincoln County Jail in Kemmerer.
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Dereck “DJ” Harrison, the man accused of killing a Utah Transit Authority (UTA) worker and dumping his body off a dirt road near Kemmerer, has been extradited from a Utah jail to the Lincoln County Jail in Kemmerer.
Harrison, of Pinedale, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping a Centerville, Utah, woman and her four daughters. Harrison’s father, Flint Harrison, was also charged in the Utah and Wyoming crimes, but the elder Harrison hanged himself in his Davis County Jail cell in July.
The five kidnapping victims were able to break free and call 911, and investigators believe the Harrisons went on the run. They later allegedly kidnapped UTA maintenance worker Kay Porter Ricks, stole his work truck and drove to Lincoln County, where a witness saw a UTA truck order food from the Arctic Circle drive-thru in Diamondville.
Ricks’ body was later found off a dirt road about 15 miles south of Kemmerer. According to court documents, Ricks’ throat had been cut and a knife was found under his body, though more severe injuries were to his head, where investigators believe he was hit several times with a blunt object and left to die.
According to a press release from Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred, DJ Harrison was transferred to Kemmerer on Tuesday. He faces murder and kidnapping charges, among others. If convicted, Harrison could face the death penalty, though Allred has declined to comment on whether he will pursue it.
Harrison is scheduled for an initial appearance in circuit court at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 30, where he will be advised of the charges he faces and his constitutional rights. Bail will also be set at Thursday’s hearing.
“Further hearings, including Mr. Harrison’s arraignment in which he will be asked to enter a plea, will be scheduled at a later date,” Allred said in the release.