Flint Wayne Harrison, a 51-year-old man from Utah along with his son, Dereck James “DJ” Harrison, accused of attempted kidnapping, are making headlines. According to the police, Dereck James, and Flint Wayne Harrison lured a woman and her four teenage daughters because of a meth-fueled paranoia that made them believe that she had plans to alert the authorities to their drug activities.
Flint Wayne Harrison and Dereck James “DJ” Harrison apparently tried to kidnap a close family friend along with her four children because they thought she had plans to call the police and report their drug usage.
On Thursday night, using the ruse of a party, the Harrison men lured a woman and her daughters, aged 13, 15, 17, and 18, to their home. When the family arrived at the home, despite the fact that there were no other “guests” at the event, they accepted to go down in the basement where the festivities were supposed to be taking place.
What happened next is beyond disturbing. According to a report from Centerville police Lt. Von Steenblik:
“The women claimed they were bound with zip ties as the men battered the mother with a baseball bat as apparent retaliation between the victim and the younger suspect. The women and children managed to escape. During the struggle, one girl managed to get a hold of the bat and hit one of the attackers, and another slapped the shotgun away when it was pointed at her throat.”
The four females were taking to a nearby hospital and according to Sublette County Sheriff Stephen Haskell, the mother suffered injuries to her head and ribs. She was attacked with a baseball bat.
The Harrison men fled the home and were driven by someone to Salt Lake City, where they spent the night in a hotel. As stated above, Harrison junior was very close to the family, he would often visit their home and have dinner, so why kidnap them?
Police officers have a theory; they believe that the father and son abducted and assaulted the family because their meth-fueled paranoia made them think that the mother had informed police of their drug activities. Multiple agencies from surrounding precincts – including the Green River Police Department, Rock Springs Police Department, and the Sweet Water County Sheriff’s Office joined the small rural Pinedale police force in the search.
Flint Harrison and DJ Harrison were charged with 16 counts, including aggravated kidnapping and possession of a controlled substance. On Sunday, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office announced that Flint Wayne Harrison, a registered sex offender in Pinedale, Wyoming surrendered and immediately began helping authorities find his son, who was later arrested. Steenblik added:
“We’re really happy that it ended up this way, both one surrender and one being caught without … violence that was threatened. We can move on with the case in the court.”
Marilyn Brown‘s Dereck James “DJ” Harrison’s maternal grandmother was also arrested for causing chaos at the Sublette County jail, she was trying to post bail for the suspects. This was a violation of her own probation. The father and son are held without bail.
