PHILADELPHIA – A federal police fugitive task force has recaptured the second of two inmates who escaped from a Philadelphia jail earlier this month, a man who had been arrested on charges in four murders, police said. authorities
Ameen Hurst, 18, was arrested around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in West Philadelphia, according to Robert Clark, deputy supervisor of the U.S. Marshals Service in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Authorities had been working with the family since Tuesday evening to get Hurst to surrender, but there were several deadlines for that to happen, Clark said.
Authorities had located 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 incidents, Clark said. A family member was also detained for questioning, he said
Hurst and Nasir Grant, 24, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Facility on May 7 cutting a hole in a fence surrounding a playground, the Philadelphia Department of Corrections said. The two men were missing for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing.
Before the escape, Hurst had been arrested on four counts of murder while Grant was being held on drug conspiracy and weapons conspiracy. Officials have said the inmates were housed in the same unit, but in 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 pulled over in a nearby car and arrested without incident.
Three people have been charged with helping the men 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, fleeing and ‘criminal use of a communication facility. Facing similar charges is Xianni Stalling, 21, 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 accused of murder in a fight outside a popular Philadelphia cheese 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 deaths of Isidro Cortez, 28, of Queens, New York, outside Pat’s King of Steaks; his lawyer has said that other suspects were primarily responsible.
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