Jury Convicts Shue of Kidnap in 15 Minutes

A federal jury took less than 15 minutes Friday to convict a Michigan parolee of kidnaping a Castaic real estate agent, rejecting defense claims that the married saleswoman made up a tale of terror to conceal a romantic escapade.

The conviction of Timothy Daniel Shue ended a four-day trial whose centerpiece was the emotional testimony of Paula D. Harrington. The 27-year-old woman wept as she described a terrifying two-day trip to Arizona, telling the 10-man, two-woman jury that Shue forced her at gunpoint to withdraw cash for him, purchase camping equipment and submit to him sexually.

Found bound and gagged July 1 in a Gila Bend, Ariz., hotel room, Harrington clutched a bouquet of flowers and hugged friends and family Friday as they marveled over the jury’s swift verdict in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

“We’re still processing it,” she said, declining further comment.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Debra W. Yang called the verdict “a wonderful result,” adding: “Justice was done.”

Said one of Harrington’s supporters, “I guess honest people recognize honest people.”

Shue, 38, was scheduled for sentencing on March 6 by Judge Edward Rafeedie and is being held without bail in federal custody. Convicted of one count each of kidnaping and using a firearm, he faces a maximum term of life in prison without parole.

The ordeal began June 29, when Shue posed as a customer named Steve Sterling and phoned Harrington at the Castaic Century 21 office where she worked. He asked her to show him residential properties, saying he wanted to move quickly, Yang recounted.

After complimenting a sunny master bathroom at a remote home in Val Verde, Shue pulled out a handgun, ordered Harrington to the floor, hogtied her and told her that if she didn’t cooperate, he’d kill her, Yang continued.

The threats continued for the next two days as they drove to Hacienda Heights, Redlands, Indio, the Salton Sea, Yuma, Ariz., and, finally, Gila Bend.

At first, Shue told Harrington he only wanted money for a final bit of fun before he died of a brain tumor, Yang reminded jurors. But he refused to release her even after her bank ATM card was rejected and cruelly reneged on promises not to rape her, Yang said.

Shue confessed to FBI agents after his arrest at an Ogden, Utah, bar July 6, saying he had picked Harrington’s picture out of a real-estate ad that made it seem to him like she earned a lot of money, Yang said.

During a forceful closing argument Friday morning, a lawyer for Shue challenged Harrington’s account and compared her to Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother accused of drowning her two young sons and publicly claiming they were abducted.

Deputy Federal Public Defender Ellen Barry told jurors Harrington had willingly run off with Shue and was never truly afraid of him. Barry said Harrington had concocted a nightmare tale of abduction and rape to save her marriage, gain media attention and clinch a movie deal.

“Susan Smith drove her children to the bottom of a lake and got on TV and wept and begged for their return,” Barry said in her closing argument, drawing objections from prosecutors. “How different is Paula Harrington from Susan Smith?”

Urging the jury to question a lack of physical evidence, Barry noted that no hair or clothing fibers were introduced as evidence to prove Harrington rode hogtied in the rear of Shue’s Jeep, even though FBI technicians vacuumed a canister of debris from the vehicle.

And there was no proof, Barry said, of scratches on the Jeep or paint left on a chain-link fence, despite testimony that Shue must have crashed through the gate of a Val Verde home when he fled with Harrington.

But the jurors apparently agreed with prosecutor Yang, who called the evidence against Shue “overwhelming . . . evidence which woven together completely corroborates itself.”

The abduction by Shue, a convicted armed robber, ended a two-month rape and robbery spree across several states, according to authorities. His conviction Friday will probably affect several other investigations, Yang said.

Shue was not charged with rape in Harrington’s assault because the federal government has no jurisdiction over that crime.