Brother of kidnapped teens: 'I'm not fearful'

The brother of two teenagers kidnapped at gunpoint earlier this week says he worked frantically to find ransom money to save his siblings and admitted his part in an elaborate scheme to track down hidden stacks of cash he hoped to take to a rendezvous point in Miami.

Stanley Pernell, 19, told The Indianapolis Star in a jailhouse interview that his older sister, Whitney Blackwell, asked him to find the money she had taken from an alleged drug dealer she had dated and lived with in Detroit.

Federal officials say the man, John Thomas, is accused of kidnapping Pernell and Blackwell's younger siblings, Aaron and Emma Blackwell, after Whitney Blackwell fled to Indianapolis with the money, as well cocaine and other drugs. The amount of cash is in dispute, ranging from $43,000 to $250,000 based on various court documents and witness accounts.

Pernell is being held at the Marion County Jail on felony burglary and drug-dealing conspiracy charges in connection with the case. He said he isn't scared of Thomas and the five other people who are accused of kidnapping Aaron, 16, and Emma, 13. Both children returned to Indianapolis safely.

"I'm not fearful," Pernell said. "I was more worried about my brother and sister. After they figured out they was safe, I was cool. I'm just doing my time, and when I get out, I'm going to go about my everyday, day-to-day life."

Pernell said he found out about the kidnapping about 2 ¹/₂ hours after Aaron and Emma were taken from a family home in the 1200 block of LaSalle Street around 2:30 a.m. Monday. The kidnappers called the family at least eight times and told them to bring the money to Miami within 24 hours, according to court records.

He said he was surprised the kidnappers succeeded, and he suggested that he would have put up a fight if he had been there.

"I'm not going to say it would have been any different," Pernell said. "But they wouldn't be out of the house. I might be ended up dead or something, but they wouldn't have taken my little brother and sister. I got too much heart to let that happen."

Pernell also said he knew Thomas, the alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping plot. Pernell said he spent time at Thomas' house in Detroit, doing construction work and painting walls.

"He was a cool cat, rather than the fact that he was doing the drugs and stuff," Pernell said.

Court documents say Blackwell yelled to her brother to "get the money and get her out of jail" as she was taken into custody Monday. She faces a felony conspiracy charge for drug dealing.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Pernell was asked to come to the police station for questioning. Afterward, police tracked him to a home in the 1500 block of South Goodlet Avenue, where he told The Star he searched for the money but came up empty.

Whitney Blackwell, who also spoke to The Star on Wednesday at Marion County Jail, said she stashed the money at the Goodlet home. Police who searched the home found an undisclosed amount of money, along with duffle bag carrying blue pills, white powder, marijuana and several forms of identification for Blackwell, court documents say.

"I couldn't find anything there," Pernell said. "When I went into the house, I entered through the window she told me to go through since the door wasn't unlocked. And then I looked for the money. Like shoeboxes, that would be a common place. There wasn't nothing in there. I checked the vents — wasn't in there."

Court documents say Pernell left the home, driving away in an aqua Ford Mustang his sister had bought for him as a gift using the stolen money. Police pulled him over for committing several traffic violations. He also admitted to breaking into the basement of the residence, stealing a bag of marijuana and taking $100 in cash.

Pernell said he hasn't spoken with Aaron or Emma since his arrest. But he did have a few words for them:

"I love you," he said. "I see you when you get home. Or when I get out."

The conspiracy to commit dealing in cocaine charge that Pernell faces, which is a Level 2 felony, is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He could face an additional 12 years in prison if convicted on the burglary charge.

Whitney Blackwell faces the same drug-dealing conspiracy charge.

Justin L. Mack contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.