Man Suspected in Kidnaping Arrested in Utah

A man suspected of kidnaping and assaulting a Val Verde real estate agent was arrested early Wednesday morning at a topless club in Ogden, Utah, when he allegedly displayed a handgun to one of the dancers, authorities said.

Timothy Daniel Shue, 26, is accused of abducting Paula Harrington, 26, at gunpoint June 29 by posing as a prospective home buyer. She was found three days later tied to a bed in a motel in Gila Bend, Ariz., about 70 miles southwest of Phoenix.

Shue also is suspected in an unspecified number of similar crimes, including the abduction of a woman and unauthorized use of her credit card last month in Wyoming, Mich., a suburb of Grand Rapids.

Ogden police officers arrested Shue about 2 a.m. Wednesday at the Ladies of Lace club, said Jack Callahan, an FBI spokesman for the Phoenix office.

“He was in a Las Vegas-style supper club known to feature topless dancers and was displaying a pistol to one of the dancers, who reported it to her manager,” Callahan said, adding that the manager called police.

Harrington, vacationing in Lake Tahoe with her husband, Chris, said she was relieved when police officials called her husband Wednesday morning to report the arrest. Harrington has acknowledged that Shue assaulted her during the kidnaping.

“I was so relieved he didn’t hurt anyone else,” she said.

Shue, who has used numerous aliases since becoming a fugitive, was using a false name when he was arrested, authorities said. Ogden police found identification with his true name while booking him, and a computer check revealed federal warrants for fraud and unlawful flight in the Michigan case.

Shue appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City on Wednesday afternoon on charges of fraud and unlawful flight for Michigan incident, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Paul Warner. Warner said Shue will be charged in the Harrington kidnaping today when a warrant arrives from the FBI in Los Angeles.

Extradition issues still have to be determined, but officials said they believe the case will be tried in Los Angeles.