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Sister of abducted teens stole cash, feared for life, court documents say

Justin L. Mack and Jill Disis

Whitney Blackwell says putting two of her younger siblings in danger was the worst thing she has ever done in her life.

The abduction of Aaron, 16, and Emma Blackwell, 13, triggered an Amber Alert when investigators said they were kidnapped at gunpoint early Monday and held for ransom. Court documents say the two were taken after their older sister stole money and narcotics from a Detroit drug dealer she used to date.

"He went and kidnapped my brother and sister because he couldn't find me," said Blackwell, 27, in a jailhouse interview with The Indianapolis Star. "If I would have just stayed, he would have just killed me and my kid and he wouldn't have hurt my brother and sister."

Just what all Blackwell stole from the alleged drug dealer is in dispute. She said she took $43,000, just enough for her and her 6-year-old son to escape his control. A federal complaint in the case cites $120,000, along with 4,000 OxyContin pills and a kilogram of cocaine. A Marion County probable cause affidavit charging her with drug dealing puts the money at $250,000.

This much, however, appears certain: The alleged drug dealer, a former boyfriend, wanted his money and drugs back, court records said, and he was willing to take drastic measures to get it.

John Thomas is now in federal custody. U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced Wednesday that Thomas and five other people — Bernando Reeves, Ali Hussain Ashore, Mohammed Karkash, April Sandell and Alaa Al-Salehi — are facing federal charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Wearing a yellow jumpsuit and handcuffs, she spoke with reporters from the Marion County Jail, where she is being held. She said she still fears for her and her son's lives. The boy is in the custody of the Department of Child Services.

Tears were streaming from her eyes.

"I don't believe this is over," she said. "I'm scared to death of him, and I'm scared to get out of jail. … It don't matter if he's locked up at all."

Blackwell said she is relieved her younger brother and sister are safe. Aaron and Emma endured a nearly daylong ordeal after they were abducted Monday. Aaron was bound, blindfolded and thrown in a trunk, while Emma was driven first to Kentucky and then a Taco Bell in Dayton, Ohio, before her kidnappers sent her home in a cab.

"I felt so bad because I should have just stayed, because I thought he was going to kill them," Blackwell said.

Blackwell's mother, Kathleen Blackwell, told investigators she doubts her daughter's remorse. She said her daughter claimed to have stolen as much as $250,000 from Thomas, along with some cocaine, court documents say.

As Whitney Blackwell was taken into custody Monday, she yelled to her brother, Stanley Pernell, to "get the money and get her out of jail," court records say.

Detectives later tracked Pernell to a home in the 1500 block of South Goodlet Avenue, where they found large amounts of money in several locations, including under a pile of trash in the basement.

Kathleen Blackwell told police her daughter was hiding the money in numerous locations and planned to bury money in her yard. She also said "she had no doubt that Whitney was hoping to keep the money and had little concern for her kidnapped brother and sister's safety," court documents said.

Police also found a duffle bag carrying blue pills, white powder, marijuana and several forms of identification for Whitney Blackwell, court documents said.

Blackwell on Wednesday denied that she had stolen that much.

"I did not take the drugs. I only took some of the money, and I left a lot of it there," Blackwell said. "I know I left with enough so that me and my son could be OK."

Blackwell said she was working as a stripper in Detroit when she met Thomas around Thanksgiving last year. She said the relationship became abusive, leading her to leave Detroit last week. She said she bought two cars with the money she took, along with some clothes and birthday toys for her son.

The next time she heard from Thomas, she said, was Monday after her younger brother and sister were abducted. She said he called her and demanded his money back.

"You could hear (Emma) screaming in the background," Blackwell said. "I felt so bad because all that happened because of me – because I thought it was a great thing to go and be with this little (expletive) drug dealer that took care of me."

Aaron and Emma were taken about 2:30 a.m. Monday when three armed kidnappers kicked in the front door of their home in the 1200 block of LaSalle Street. The men were asking for the money, court documents said, and when none was found, they took the children.

Court documents don't specify which three people entered the home. Court documents allege all five suspects were working for or with Thomas.

The teens were separated, placed into separate vehicles and driven to Detroit, court documents say.

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. In one of the calls, the kidnappers threatened to "chop the kids' fingers off" if the money was not delivered.

Meanwhile, Whitney Blackwell told investigators about Thomas.

Thomas was later taken into custody in Detroit. He told officers that Whitney Blackwell had stolen the money and drugs from him one day when he left the house they were sharing, court documents said.

Police tracked the phone that placed the ransom calls to a home in Detroit and later followed two men who left the house in an SUV. When police tried to pull the vehicle over, a high-speed chase ensued with the SUV hitting a snow bank, court documents said. Aaron was found inside.

Aaron told police that he was blindfolded for the entirety of his abduction. He said his captors cut his finger because he couldn't answer questions they were asking him.

While Aaron was being held in Detroit, Emma was taken to Kentucky, court documents said. After expressing concerns about the weather, her kidnappers, a man and a woman, decided to move her to a Taco Bell in Dayton, Ohio.

Once they made it to Dayton, the kidnappers gave Emma $200 and told her to take a taxi to Indianapolis. A cab took her back to her LaSalle Street home.

Thomas, Reeves, Ashore, Karkash, Sandell and Al-Salehi each face a charge of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and face up to life in prison if convicted.

Whitney Blackwell faces a charge of conspiracy to commit dealing in cocaine, a Level 2 felony that is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Her brother, Stanley Pernell, faces the same conspiracy charge, along with a burglary charge. Prosecutors say he broke into the home where the money was kept. That charge is a Level 4 felony punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.