Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Kidnaping Suspect Returned to L.A. to Face Grand Jury

A man arrested in Utah who is suspected of kidnaping and sexually assaulting a Val Verde real estate agent has been transported to Los Angeles, where a federal grand jury is expected to hear accusations against him next week, officials said Thursday.

Timothy Daniel Shue, 38, is in federal custody without bail while prosecutors assemble their case and try to secure an indictment from the grand jury, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Debra Yang. Shue is charged with one count of kidnaping, which could result in life in prison without parole.

Shue, also suspected of numerous similar crimes in several states during a two-month period, was brought to Los Angeles Tuesday, Yang said. He appeared that day before Magistrate Brian Robbins, who ruled there was sufficient grounds to keep Shue in custody while prosecutors seek an indictment.

“I can’t think of anyone who needs to be in custody more than him,” Yang said. “Everywhere he stops or pauses he commits another crime.”

Shue, a resident of Cadillac, Mich., is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 1 if indicted by the grand jury.

Attempts to reach Shue’s attorney, Humberto Diaz, were unsuccessful.

Shue is accused of kidnaping Paula Harrington, 26, on June 29 by posing as a customer at the real estate office where she worked. He allegedly abducted her at gunpoint after they looked at several houses in Val Verde, a small community northwest of Santa Clarita.

Harrington was found tied up in a motel room July 1 in Gila Bend, Ariz., a small town 68 miles southwest of Phoenix.

Shue was arrested July 6 in an Ogden, Utah, club after he allegedly displayed a handgun to a topless dancer.

He is also suspected of committing several other kidnapings, rapes and robberies in Michigan, Kansas, Oregon and other states. However, law enforcement agencies in those areas seeking to prosecute Shue will have to wait for the conclusion of the federal proceedings.