Found Deceased UT - Kay Ricks, 62, Salt Lake City, 12 May 2016 *Arrests*

[steelman]

At this point, Utah Transit Authority Police, Centerville police and Sublette County Sheriff’s Office say they have found nothing that links suspects Dereck James Harrison and Flint Wayne Harrison to UTA maintenance worker Kay Porter Ricks.

UTA detectives first contacted Centerville authorities during their investigation to see if they were aware of a connection to the kidnapping and assault case.

“We informed them that we were not aware of any connection,” according to a press release from Centerville police.

Centerville police say they forwarded the attempt to locate information from UTA to Sublette County Sheriff’s Office so they were aware in case they found the work truck in Wyoming.

“We believe that between all the parties involved who were communicating about this case, a misperception developed that there was a connection between the two cases,” the release states.

"We don't believe there is any connection, they don't nor do we, but that's a box we need to check.

http://fox13now.com/2016/05/16/miss...enterville-kidnapping-suspects-officials-say/



It's called a carjacking gentlemen. It occurs most often in urban areas, but not always. Look it up.

This must be what is commonly referred to as "getting the benefit of the doubt", luckily for the drug addicted psychopaths.

 

[cocomod]

http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/funeral-arrangements-set-for-kay-ricks

AMERICAN FORK, Utah (ABC4 Utah) - Funeral arrangements have been announced for Utah Transit Authority employee Kay Ricks.

 

[cocomod]

http://www.sltrib.com/home/3909759-155/ricks-slaying-divers-sonar-boat-joins-search

As a Utah father and son were brought back to their home state Thursday to face kidnapping charges after fleeing to Wyoming, police continued gathering evidence that could link the two men to the slaying of a Utah Transit Authority employee whose body was found Tuesday in rural Wyoming.

A key piece of evidence — Kay Porter Rick's work-issued UTA truck — was found Thursday morning near Half Moon Lake, according to Sublette County sheriff's Sgt. Katherine Peterson. An FBI agent flying overhead in an airplane spotted the white F-150 pickup truck amid trees off the road as other police authorities combed the area outside of Pinedale and searched nearby lakes for the missing vehicle.

"It would be an amazing coincidence if they were not," Centerville Police Chief Paul Child said during a Thursday afternoon news conference outside the Davis County Jail, where the Harrison's had just been booked.

Peterson, while acknowledging that the pickup's recovery likely was a big break in the Wyoming homicide investigation, said it likely would be "some time" before any charges can be brought.

"[Investigators]y need to see what evidence they have and go from there," the Wyoming sergeant said.

Peterson did not say whether firearms the Harrisons were believed to have with them also had been found in or near the truck, but she did confirm that FBI and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents were processing evidence at the scene.

The Harrisons, meanwhile, had been staying at a Ramada Inn just 2 miles from where Ricks had been working prior to his disappearance.

The UTA truck was caught on a security camera Thursday night in Wyoming, in a town north of where Ricks' body was discovered in an isolated spot off U.S. 89, 16 miles south of Kemmerer, late Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Ricks family announced plans for a funeral on Saturday, beginning at noon in the American Fork West Stake Center, 579 N. 680 West. Burial will follow at the Lehi City Cemetery, family spokesman Richard Massey said.

 

[0101ABA]

Family, friends and colleagues are honoring a slain Utah rail worker Saturday as police investigate whether a father and son accused of tying up five women in a basement were involved in his disappearance.

A funeral for 63-year-old Kay Ricks is set for noon. The Utah Transit Authority will briefly halt its buses and trains at that time as operators read a statement honoring the maintenance worker and grandfather. Flags are being flown at half-staff on UTA property, and vehicles will run with their headlights on.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...bly-murdered-father-son-duo-article-1.2653103

 

[cocomod]

http://kutv.com/news/local/uta-is-having-a-stand-down-to-honor-murdered-worker

 

[cocomod]

I watched a live press conference on Friday with the FBI asking for any tips from the public who may have seen the UTA truck between a specific time frame. They emphasized that the public should not assume that the LE already has any information. I will try to find a video of the PC

 

[cocomod]

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=40409823&ni...-charged-with-murdering-uta-worker-in-wyoming

A father and son accused of kidnapping a Clinton woman and her four daughters now face murder charges in Wyoming.



The charges carry a potential death sentence in Wyoming.

The two were also charged with kidnapping Ricks and unlawful taking or disposing of property.


Charging documents indicate that Ricks died after he was repeatedly struck in the face by a blunt object. Investigators say he was beaten for more than 18 minutes. He also suffered three lacerations to his neck.

 

[cocomod]

 

[cocomod]

https://www.facebook.com/abc4utah/videos/10154266157129160/

Dereck Dj Harrison ... will be transported to Wyoming to face murder charges in the death of Kay Ricks

 

[cocomod]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-sentenced-in-basement-kidnap-of-utah-mom-her-four-teen-daughters/

A Utah man who pleaded guilty to tying up five people in a basement was sentenced Monday to serve between 30 years and life in prison, but first he’ll face murder charges in Wyoming connected to the same crime spree.

Both men were arrested in Wyoming after a manhunt, but Flint Harrison killed himself in a Utah jail in July.

The Wyoming case could carry the death penalty, and prosecutors are expected to decide whether to pursue it after Dereck Harrison arrives.

 

[0101ABA]

D.J. Harrison expected to be extradited this month to face murder charges in Kemmerer

Later this month, Dereck James Harrison, 23, will be extradited and moved from the Utah Department of Corrections in Draper, Utah, to the Lincoln County Detention Center in Kemmerer to face sentencing on his involvement in the death of Kay Porter Ricks, a 63-year-old American Fork, Utah resident whose body was found near Kemmerer on May 17.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

From last month:

DJ Harrison admits to kidnap, murder of UTA worker

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865678030/DJ-Harrison-admits-to-kidnap-murder-of-UTA-worker.html

Dereck James “DJ” Harrison pleaded guilty Monday to murdering Utah Transit Authority employee Kay Ricks and dumping his body in a remote area of Wyoming last year.

But in doing so, Harrison put most of the blame on his deceased father, Flint Wayne Harrison, 51, saying that his father was the one who killed Ricks, 63, and that he thought they were going to let him go in Wyoming.

But Ricks' friend, and the spokesman for the Ricks family, became angry when he listened to Harrison blame his father for the brutal murder.

"I believe (DJ) had everything to do with the murder, and at any point could have convinced his father of another option," Richard Massey said outside of court.

By pleading guilty, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty as part of a deal announced Monday. Harrison will be sentenced May 17. At that time, a judge will announce whether he accepts the plea agreement. He is expected to be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Harrison said Monday he and his father spent the first night on the run in a Ramada Inn. The next day, they went to Salt Lake City and "walked around town all night looking for vehicles" to steal, but without success. After sleeping near UTA's Ballpark Station, 180 W. 1300 South, Harrison said his father spotted Ricks' UTA vehicle and decided to take it.

Ricks tried to drive off. But Harrison said he helped his father push Ricks out of the truck and onto the ground where Flint Harrison tied Ricks' hands behind his back. They then put Ricks into the cab of his UTA truck.

The father and son drove to a rural area off state Route 189 outside Kemmerer, Wyoming. Harrison said he thought they were going to let Ricks go at that point. He testified that after Ricks was taken out of the truck, he went back to get the man's coat so he wouldn't be cold. But when Harrison turned around, he said his father was cutting Ricks' throat.

Harrison claimed his father acted without ever talking to him. He said he and the elder Harrison then got into a fight about what was happening. It was at that point that they heard splashing water and turned to see Ricks trying to run away. Harrison said his father then grabbed a metal bar from the back of the UTA truck and smashed Ricks' head four or five times.

Police and prosecutors say Ricks was brutally killed over an 18-minute period.

"You always have the empty chair defense when something like that happens. You can always point to the empty chair and say, ‘Well, he did it.' And that’s kind of what DJ did today. ‘Dad did this, and did this and Dad did this and I didn’t do this.’ Luckily, the law doesn’t take into account any of that because he was there and it happened and he was part of it,” Massey said.

"He was there when a man was murdered and did absolutely nothing about it.”

Massey said he wished Flint Harrison had faced his charges in court, too.

This ordeal, Massey said, has been "as difficult as you can imagine" for Ricks' family. His wife still won't come out of her house, he said. And "her grandchildren are still scared at night that the bad men who came to get Grandpa will come to get them."

"They are still hemorrhaging inside emotionally. And it is extremely difficult for them," he added. "But it is one of the gifts that we're getting out of this tragedy that there is not going to be a trial, and the family is so, so grateful for that."

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

D.J. Harrison sentenced to life in prison without parole in killing of UTA worker Kay Ricks

A year to the day after his victim’s body was found, Dereck James “D.J.” Harrison has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of Kay Ricks, a Utah Transit Authority employee who was kidnapped and whose body was dumped in a remote area of Wyoming.

In March, Harrison, 23, agreed to plead guilty and provide testimony in the crime in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/dj-harrison-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-killing-of/article_7dbedfb5-c0a3-5722-8327-eb5164d341e1.html

Richard Massey, spokesman for the Ricks family, issued the following statement after the sentencing.

“We were pleased with the plea agreement and the plea arrangement. We’re grateful the judge accepted the plea agreement. DJ Harrison seemed remorseful in the actions he participated in. We’re grateful there won’t be a trial and that under his attorney’s advice, he accepted the plea agreement. We hope at some point, he will have it in him to contact the family and express the remorse he expressed in the courtroom.”

Massey, the Ricks family spokesman and friend of the victim, encouraged DJ Harrison to repent while in prison.

“DJ, you are our brother. We will see you in the eternities,” Massey said. “We want that meeting to be sweet.”

Ricks’ family didn’t attend the hearing. They said in statements read by a family spokesman that they forgive Harrison but don’t condone his actions.

“You could have stopped these horrible acts at any point, but you did not,” Lori Ricks, the victim’s widow, said in a letter. “You and only you are responsible for your own actions.”

Massey said the Ricks family chose not to attend the hearing because it would be too difficult. He said the family has vowed to never speak or think about Harrison again — focusing on their religious belief that they will rejoin with Kay Ricks in the afterlife.

“We forgive you so that we may move forward,” Lori Ricks wrote.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Utah man sentenced to life in prison on federal charges involving UTA worker's death

http://kutv.com/news/local/utah-man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-on-federal-charges-involving-uta-workers-death

A federal judge sentenced a Utah man, who is already serving a life sentence, to life in prison on new carjacking and kidnapping charges for his role in the murder of Utah train worker Kay Ricks in 2016.

DJ Harrison, 23, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison on a Wyoming murder charge for Ricks' death, pleaded guilty to two federal charges before U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby on Thursday.

Prosecutors said charging Harrison federally in Utah ensured that he would remain in prison for life, without any possibility of parole.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Family of slain UTA worker Kay Ricks blames agency for his death, lawsuit seeks damages

In a complaint and jury demand filed in Utah's Third Judicial District Court, Ricks' family alleges that UTA was aware of the dangerous conditions he was working in as an employee, and the company didn't respond to a distress call that was sent at the time of the incident.

The complaint states that "UTA employees had repeatedly made UTA management aware of the dangers posed to UTA maintenance employees by their working alone in unsafe areas."

Documents also allege that despite being aware of unsafe working conditions, Ricks was assigned to a dangerous area without a fellow employee and with little safeguards such as GPS trackers and well-monitored panic buttons.