Fugitive returns to Oregon to surrender after 13-years
Rather than facing a judge to hear a verdict on a criminal case in 1999, Timothy McNair, now 52, fled Portland and became a fugitive of the state.
McNair said, however, he is ready to do the right thing after undergoing a life altering experience, which has changed him from being a menace to a minister of society 13-years later.
McNair, who has been living in undisclosed locations throughout the country for over a decade, kept hearing about a program in Portland, Oregon, which helps people with past criminal problems and traffic fines. The program Project Clean Slate motivated McNair to go online and find further information, which prompted him to get in touch with Roy Jay, the founder and executive director.
“Mr. Jay spoke with me extensively over the past month and a half as I told him that I wanted to surrender. He never asked me where I was living; he simply made me feel very comfortable about doing the right thing. I knew I had an outstanding warrant for my arrest and several convictions, traffic tickets that are haunting me,” said McNair. “My former friends, sports athletes, rap artists and people living on the edge were not the solution.”
And after various conversations McNair decided to come to Portland to surrender.
“He is ready to face the music, regardless of the consequences,” said Jay. “He told me his life changing experience where he has elevated himself through higher spiritual education and wants to give his testimonial to both young and old that may be living life on the edge.”
Project Clean Slate, which is the only program of its kind in the country, operates under the authority of the Multnomah County Circuit Court and District Attorney’s office.
McNair plans to travel thousands of miles to Portland with an anticipated arrival between April 11 and 15. Through a special arrangement with Project Clean Slate, he is slated to meet with youth and a local church ministry to tell his story in hope that it will help others change their lives.
After his presentation he will be taken into custody and escorted to Multnomah County jail for a preliminary hearing.
