Fugitive’s brother gets probation for aiding in escape

Saturday, Feb. 12, 2000 | 3:24 a.m.

U.S. District Judge Johnnie Rawlinson said Friday that Terry Blackburn acted out of a "misguided sense of loyalty" last year when he provided his driver's license to his brother, Timothy, a bank robbery suspect who escaped in August from the North Las Vegas Detention Center.

Authorities later found the driver's license in the Boulder Highway motel room where Timothy Blackburn killed his wife, the couple's two young daughters and himself.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Schiess said Terry Blackburn, 25, knew "he was uncaging a dangerous animal into a crowded city" by assisting his brother. Nevertheless, Schiess said, the defendant has impressed him since then with his demeanor, his remorse and his acceptance of responsibility.

In choosing Blackburn's penalty, Rawlinson said she considered the loss he already has suffered with the deaths of four relatives.

In addition to probation, Rawlinson ordered Blackburn to spend six months at a halfway house in Las Vegas. She also ordered him to complete 300 hours of community service by providing martial-arts instruction to at-risk youth.

Blackburn is a black belt in tae kwon do and owns a studio with his wife.