KEMMERER — Lincoln County prisoner Dereck “DJ” Harrison, 23, arrested in Pinedale last summer with his father, made his initial appearance Thursday morning in Lincoln County Circuit Court, to hear four felony murder and kidnapping charges against him read by Judge Frank J. Zebre.

Harrison and his father, Flint Harrison — who hanged himself in a Utah jail last year — had been charged in June with the May 2016 death of Utah Transit Authority (UTA) employee Kay Porter Ricks.
The Harrisons allegedly kidnapped Ricks and stole vehicle on May 12, 2016, and fled into Wyoming; Ricks’ body was found outside Kemmerer five days later, after the Harrisons had turned themselves in to the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) during an extensive manhunt initiated after authorities learned Flint Harrison owned a home in Pinedale.
The two had been returned to the Davis County (Utah) Jail where they remained to await the outcome of charges against them in Centerville, Utah. The younger Harrison pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree felony kidnapping and was sentenced in October to 30 years to life in a Utah prison.
Harrison was then transported to Lincoln County on Tuesday, March 28, to await his initial appearance on Thursday.

The Wyoming charges filed against the younger Harrison include first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree murder while kidnapping, kidnapping and wrongfully taking or disposal of property — Ricks’ UTA company vehicle.
Judge Zebre read Harrison his constitutional rights and explained the charges. Harrison waived the Circuit Court preliminary hearing, which moves his case to the Third District Court.
There, Harrison will have an arraignment, which is not yet scheduled, at which he will enter a plea.
This raised the question of the possibility Harrison may have a plea bargain in the works based on his decision to waive the preliminary hearing. Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred commented on Harrison’s action.
“… Although we won’t speak for what we have worked out for the future.” said Allred, “at this point, his arraignment will be set in the District Court where he will enter his plea.”
Allred explained this is expected to happen perhaps in the next several weeks.
When asked Thursday if the state intends to pursue the death penalty, Allred replied, “No, we have not decided yet. We will be having that discussion in the next coming weeks prior to the arraignment.”
When asked to identify the alleged murder weapon Thursday, Allred would not comment.
“We are not prepared to say what the weapon was at this time,” he said.