Jury finds Virginia Beach man guilty in case of Logan Township kidnapping

Harris convicted on all counts related to 2025 abduction, high-speed chase

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The Virginia Beach man on trial for kidnapping two children alongside their mother in September 2025 was convicted Thursday evening on all counts against him.

The Blair County jury deliberated about three hours before returning their unanimous verdict against Brandon Michael Harris, 38, who was shown on dashcam video played by prosecution leading state police on a chase reaching speeds of 130 mph from Logan Township to the Osterberg exit in Bedford County.

After two days of testimony, which saw Harris take the stand in his own defense, the jury found Harris guilty of single felony counts of aggravated assault and fleeing police, two felony counts each of kidnapping a minor and endangering the welfare of children, a single misdemeanor count of obstructing the administration of law enforcement and six misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person.

During deliberations, the jury submitted three questions to the court seeking clarification regarding different sections of the kidnapping charges.

Before giving the case to the jury, defense attorney Scott Pletcher called Harris to the stand to testify on his own behalf.

Through questioning by Pletcher, Harris said he had traveled from Virginia Beach with the woman, who is a family member, and her two children to visit her father in Logan Township over the 2025 Labor Day weekend. He admitted to leaving the woman there with the kids, then 3 and 5 years old, following an argument and returning to Virginia Beach.

Harris said he returned to Logan Township with his brother, Julian Harris, a week later to visit the children. When one of the kids expressed a desire to make s'mores, Harris said he and his brother went to Target for supplies but were followed back to the residence by a black vehicle.

Pletcher asked Harris if the vehicle remained in the area while he was at the residence, to which Harris said it began to drive near the home. He said the

children were standing in the yard as they were all getting ready to say goodbye.

When Pletcher asked Harris if he placed the children in his vehicle with Julian, Harris said yes. He then added that the woman got into the car "willingly" and "said she wanted to go home."

"There was no abduction," Harris said. "There was no kidnapping."

Pletcher also addressed the children not being in their carseats during the high-speed chase, with Harris saying he sat the children in them but the specifics were "fuzzy."

"I assumed (the woman) would make sure they were secured before we started moving," Harris said. "Unfortunately, they were in the wrong seats so that is why she was having difficulty."

Harris confirmed for Pletcher that he made the decision to leave the area "expeditiously" and planned to go to Baltimore to drop Julian Harris off at their sister's residence, then go home to Virginia Beach.

"I was moving at such a rate, maybe 10 miles over the rate, that I did not hear the initial sirens," Harris said about the state police pursuit. "We did not hear sirens until well after; we didn't hear sirens pretty much the entire time."

Harris went on to describe his driving as "defensive" and confirmed that the woman and his brother were "asking me to slow down."

When Pletcher brought up the dashcam footage that showed Harris swerving onto the interstate's grass berms, Harris said it "wasn't the first time I've taken (the children) offroading."

On cross-examination, assistant district attorney Nicholas Mays asked Harris if it was true that he took state police on a high-speed pursuit spanning 20 miles because someone followed him from Target. Harris said it was a "mitigating factor," then confirmed for Mays that he considered himself to be "hypervigilant of his surroundings."

Mays asked how Harris could be "very aware" of his surroundings, to notice the following vehicle, while not noticing the five state cruisers pursuing him, to which Harris said he "did not hear the sirens."

When Mays questioned Harris about asking his brother to take the fall for him and switching seats in the vehicle following the pursuit, Harris denied the claim.

"I didn't make my brother do anything," Harris said. "He's a grown man."

Julian Harris was charged with a single felony count of conspiracy to flee police following the incident and remains free on $75,000 unsecured bail.

Judge David B. Consiglio presided over the case and scheduled Brandon Harris for sentencing at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 15 in courtroom two. Harris has been held at the Blair County Prison in lieu of $350,000 since Sept. 7, 2025, and was remanded there to await sentencing.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.