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Kidnaping Suspect Indicted : Crime: If convicted, Timothy Shue could face life in prison without parole in abduction of Val Verde real estate agent.

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

A federal grand jury indicted a Michigan man Thursday for allegedly kidnaping a Val Verde real estate agent at gunpoint while posing as a prospective home buyer and, two days later, leaving her tied up in an Arizona motel room.

The two-count indictment charges Timothy Daniel Shue, 38, with kidnaping and the use of a handgun in connection with a crime of violence, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Debra Yang.

If convicted on the kidnaping charge, Shue faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole, Yang said. A conviction on the weapons charge would add five years to any sentence Shue receives and the possibility of a $250,000 fine.

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Shue could also receive extra time because he is on parole for robbery in Michigan and because he has other previous convictions. But just how much would be added to his sentence is unknown, Yang said.

Shue is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 1 in Los Angeles federal court before Magistrate Brian Robbins.

Shue is accused of abducting Paula Harrington, 26, on June 29 as she was showing houses to him in Val Verde, a community of about 1,500 northwest of Santa Clarita. She was found two days later in the motel room.

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

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Harrington was allegedly sexually assaulted during her two-day ordeal, authorities said. Yang said such allegations could be included in the kidnaping charge when the case goes to trial and would add to Shue’s sentence.

Shue is accused of similar kidnapings in several other states, including Michigan, Ohio and Oregon.

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Local law enforcement agencies in some of those areas have indicated they plan to pursue charges against him--especially if he is convicted and receives less than a life sentence in the Harrington kidnaping case. But other legal proceedings against him will have to wait until the conclusion of the federal case, authorities said.

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