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DUCHESNE — A Duchesne County man suspected of killing his father was charged Monday with kidnapping two other people before fleeing the state.
James Hudson Main Jr. — who was arrested in Grand Junction, Colorado, after a pursuit including two high-speed chases and another kidnapping — was charged in 8th District Court with two counts of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, as well as second-degree felony theft of a firearm and third-degree felony possession of a weapon by a restricted person.
While police have identified Main, 34, as a suspect in the death of his father, 56-year-old James Main Sr., homicide charges have not been filed.
Main's father called police Friday to report his son had stolen his gun, a Stoeger 357 revolver, and fled into the mountains around his home, 27049 W. U.S. 40, according to a police affidavit. Police searched the area but didn't locate Main or his girlfriend, who was reportedly with him.
James Main Sr. told police his son "was acting crazy and sprayed him with a fire extinguisher and then threatened to stab his truck tire," according to the affidavit.
The next day, Roosevelt police responded to a call of shots fired at 325 N. Bonnie Drive, where officers were told James Main Jr. had abducted a man and a woman at gunpoint from their home, 1450 Page Bench Road, and forced the man to drive them in their car to the home on Bonnie Drive, the affidavit states.
The man and the woman broke free after a physical altercation with Main at the home, the affidavit states. Main fired a shot at the two in their car as they attempted to drive away, shooting out a back window. One spent 357-caliber shell casing and two live rounds were found in the vehicle.
A resident at the home wrestled the gun away from Main, police said. It was later identified as a Stoeger 357 revolver.
The man who was abducted told police that "James had been bragging to him that he had just shot his father," the affidavit states. Police returned to the home of James Main Sr. and found him dead from two gunshot wounds. Two spent 357-caliber shell casings were also found in the home.
Police determined the serial number on the gun allegedly wrestled away from Main matched that of a 357 Stoeger taken from his father during a traffic stop on Sept. 26, the affidavit states.
Related
Man wanted in connection with Duchesne County homicide arrested in Colorado
A man wanted in connection with a Duchesne County homicide Friday was taken into custody in Colorado Sunday, police said.According to police, James Main Sr. was stopped with his son, who is legally restricted from possessing firearms, with him in the vehicle. The gun was taken "for safekeeping" and a record of it made by police, the affidavit states. James Main Sr. was later allowed to retrieve the gun from the police station.
After James Main Jr. fled from Roosevelt, police issued an alert with his name and description and asked the public for help locating him.
The Associated Press reported that as police pursued Main in Colorado, the Utah man led officers on two chases, broke into a woman's home to change his clothes and steal her car, crashed another stolen car, and stole a bicycle.
Police in Colorado reported that Main eluded them in an initial chase, attempting to carjack several vehicles, but tips about his location poured in after law enforcement shared his description on social media.
AP reported he stole and crashed a vehicle, fleeing on foot. He was spotted Sunday morning riding a bicycle.
Main went into a home and demanded car keys, but the homeowner refused, according to AP. He then broke into another home, where he changed his clothes before forcing a woman there to leave with him in a car that was at the house, police said. She later escaped uninjured.
Police, who had officers stationed at interstate exits, spotted the stolen vehicle. Main drove erratically and often in the wrong direction during a 10-minute chase before police stopped him, according to AP. At the time of his arrest, Main no longer had the bushy goatee he is pictured with in the photo circulated by law enforcement.
A woman who identified himself as his sister, Monica Main Vreeken, said in Facebook messages to The Associated Press that her brother suffers from mental illness. She said she and other relatives had reached out to police and hospitals to try to get help for him in the days before the slaying.
