Utah man accused of kidnapping 5 women pleads not guilty
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Utah man pleaded not guilty Monday to charges alleging he and his father tied up five women in his basement, as authorities investigate whether the two men were also involved in the death of a rail-line worker whose body was found along what authorities call their likely escape route to Wyoming.
Dereck "DJ" Harrison, 22, spoke only to tell a judge that he agreed to delay his next hearing until August as his lawyer goes through a large amount of evidence in the kidnapping case.
Defense attorney Michael Edwards also pointed to possible charges from Wyoming as he asked for the two-month delay, though it's not clear when any case might be filed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harrison is facing 16 charges in Utah, including kidnapping and drug possession.
Prosecutors say Harrison and his father, Flint Wayne Harrison, 51, invited a woman and her four teenage daughters over for a barbecue May 10, then tied them up and beat them with a baseball bat before they escaped.
Investigators believe the men were using drugs heavily and wrongly thought the mother had reported them to police.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Worker Kay Ricks, 63, disappeared during his shift, not far from where police say the Harrisons were laying low during a police manhunt.
Ricks' body was found along a key route between Utah and their remote Wyoming hideout. His truck was discovered near the campsite that was the Harrisons' last stop before their May 14 arrest.