By Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — A federal marshals fugitive task force has recaptured the second of two inmates who escaped from a Philadelphia prison earlier this month, a man who had been held on charges in four slayings, authorities said.
Ameen Hurst, 18, was taken into custody at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in west Philadelphia, according to Robert Clark, supervisory deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service in the eastern district of Pennsylvania. Authorities had been working with the family since Tuesday evening to have Hurst surrender, but several deadlines for that to happen had come and gone, Clark said.
Authorities had staked out several locations where Hurst was believed to be hiding, and when a person believed to be him was seen getting into a car with two other family members, officials moved in and arrested him without incident, Clark said. A relative was also detained for questioning, he said
Hurst and Nasir Grant, 24, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correction Center on May 7 by cutting a hole in a fence surrounding a recreation yard, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons has said. The two men were gone for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing.
Before the escape, Hurst had been held on four counts of murder while Grant was being held on conspiracy drug charges and conspiracy weapons charges. Officials have said the inmates were housed in the same unit, but different cells.
Grant was arrested Thursday night after members of a fugitive task force who were conducting surveillance in an area of North Philadelphia saw him leave a residence dressed as a woman. He was stopped in a car nearby and arrested without incident.
Three people have been charged with aiding the men in their escape.
Michael Abrams, 21, described by a police official as an “associate” of Hurst, was arrested Monday afternoon in Berwyn and faces charges of criminal conspiracy, hindering apprehension, escape and criminal use of a communication facility. Facing similar charges is 21-year-old Xianni Stalling, who is accused of putting Hurst in touch with a potential getaway driver during recorded phone calls he made from jail hours before the escape, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Authorities have also alleged that the escapees were aided by a fellow inmate who’s charged with murder in a brawl outside a famed Philadelphia cheesesteak shop. Thirty-five-year-old Jose Flores-Huerta is charged with criminal conspiracy and escape. He is one of several people charged in the September 2021 death of 28-year-old Isidro Cortez of Queens, New York, outside Pat’s King of Steaks; his attorney has said other suspects were primarily responsible.