D.A. to Wait on Charges in Kidnaping
A man accused of kidnaping a Val Verde real estate agent will not face charges--for now--from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office because a federal case against him already covers most of the allegations, authorities said Friday.
Timothy Daniel Shue, 38, is accused of abducting Paula Harrington, 26, at gunpoint June 29 by posing as a prospective home buyer. She was found tied up in an Arizona motel room two days later.
Shue was indicted Thursday on federal kidnaping and weapons charges. Double-jeopardy laws prevent the district attorney’s office from seeking charges related to those alleged acts, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Brad Stone.
In addition, the cost of a trial on lessor charges might be impractical since Shue could receive life in prison without parole on the federal charges, Stone said.
Federal prosecutors expect Shue’s trial to end before Christmas and will turn him over afterward to authorities in Michigan or Oregon, where he is wanted for similar crimes, Stone said.
Stone said the district attorney’s office may seek robbery charges against Shue if he receives less than a life sentence, since he allegedly forced Harrington to withdraw money with her ATM card.
“All of us are united in the sense that, no matter which agency gets him, we want Mr. Shue to spend the rest of his life behind bars,” Stone said.
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