On Thursday, one of the two inmates who escaped from the fflast Sunday was captured by authorities while disguised as a woman, the Associated Press reported.
Members of the US Marshals Service fugitive task force were staking out a residence in North Philadelphia where it was believed one of the inmates, Nasir Grant, 24, was staying. Around 10:30 pm on Thursday, a man matching Grant’s description emerged from the residence and got into a car. The task force followed the vehicle and stopped it nearby.
The task force is continuing to search for the second man, 18-year-old Ameen Hurst, who escaped with Grant by cutting a hole in the fence around the recreation yard.
Though they escaped on Sunday, it wasn’t until nearly 19 hours later that prison officials knew Hurst and Grant were missing.
Grant was being held at the Philadelphia correctional facility on conspiracy weapons and drug charges. Hurst was held on four counts of murder.
According to supervisory deputy Robert Clark from the Eastern Pennsylvania District of the Marshal Service, the two men’s escape was aided by Philadelphia woman Xianni Stalling who has since been charged with conspiracy and escape. US Marshalls arrested Stalling in the early hours last Wednesday. Bail was set at $500,000, however, prosecutors, who sought a bail of $2 million, are appealing the judge’s order.
Stalling was also charged with hindering apprehension and using a communication facility.
The Associated Press reported last Tuesday that the Philadelphia correctional facility, like so many prisons in the United States, is dealing with a shortage of staffing. For the last 8 or 9 months, there have been no nightshift guards posted on the perimeter, which is why the inmates were able to escape undetected.
In a report on Thursday, One America News addressed the recent rise in prison escapes in the US.
