First inmate sentenced in Arizona prison escape

KINGMAN, Ariz. — A convicted killer sentenced Friday for his escape from a state prison in Golden Valley, Ariz., will soon be transported to New Mexico to face a possible death sentence.

Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steve Conn imposed a 38¼-year prison sentence for Tracy Province, 43. Province pled guilty to escape and an assortment of other charges related to the hijacking of a truck used to reach eastern Arizona after he and two other inmates broke out of the prison last summer.

Defense attorney Ron Gilleo said Province pled guilty to all of the Arizona charges because related punishment is meaningless given that he’s already serving a double life sentence for a 1991 robbery and murder.

Sheriff Tom Sheahan said Province would be out of the Mohave County jail by Monday.

U.S. Marshall’s Office spokesman Tom Henman said Province is due in Albuquerque for a Feb. 2 hearing on charges stemming from a double homicide committed after his escape.

Province, John McCluskey, 45, and Daniel Renwick, 36, escaped the 3,500-inmate prison on July 30, 2010.

Authorities allege McCluskey’s fiancee, Casslyn Welch, 44, who is also his first-cousin, provided the wire cutters used to snip the fence, as well as weapons and other provisions.