UPDATE: Both escaped prisoners were captured, officials said. New details HERE.
Police have now arrested two people accused of helping aid two men as they escaped from a Northeast Philadelphia prison over the weekend, Philadelphia police said.
On Friday, Jose Flores-Huerta, 35, was arrested in connection to the escape of prisoners Nasir Grant and Ameen Hurst, who escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center on Sunday, May 7.
Flores-Huerta is currently an inmate at the same prison Grant and Hurst escaped from. He is being charged with criminal conspiracy and escape.
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A woman was also accused of helping aid the two men as they escaped over the weekend, according to police.
On Thursday, police issued an arrest warrant for Xianni Stalling, 21, for allegedly helping the prisoners escape as well.
Stalling, from 6900 block of 15th Street, was arrested and is being charged with criminal conspiracy, hindering apprehension, escape and use of a communications facility.
Police believe Stalling was in communication with the two men while they were in prison.
Grant, 24, and Hurst, 18, escaped from the prison on 8301 State Road around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, according to police.
The U.S. Marshals captured Nasir Grant, 24, on the 2800 block of Dauphin Street on Thursday.
It wasn't until a head count at 3 p.m. Monday when officials at the center realized Grant and Hurst had escaped more than 18 hours earlier, according to Philadelphia Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney. Surveillance video showed Grant and Hurst cutting a hole in the fence of the recreation yard and escaping Sunday evening, police said.
"I'm really angry about it. There is no reason for this. And if everybody followed through and do what they are supposed to do, we wouldn't have this problem," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said during a Monday evening press conference. "Clearly the system screwed up and people didn't do what they are supposed to do. It's clear. But we want to find out exactly who, exactly how often, and what we have to do to make sure it's back up again."
The entire facility was placed on lockdown and all other inmates were accounted for, according to Carney. Philadelphia Police and U.S. Marshals were notified and are all involved in the investigation.
"We have ongoing perimeter patrols as well as campus patrols. Just to make sure that there are no additional incidents. But this is part of our investigation," Carney said.
Officials are also investigating the Center's handling of the incident.
"As part of our investigation, I have reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to conduct a facility vulnerability assessment and security assessment as soon as possible that will help in our investigation to see any of our vulnerable points," Carney said.
Grant and Hurst were in the same unit at the facility but in different cells. Images obtained by NBC10 show workers on Tuesday assessing a hole in the outside fence where the prisoners escaped.
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Grant is described as a Black male standing 5-foot-9 and weighing 160 pounds. Hurst is described as a Black male standing 6-feet and weighing 140 pounds.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals Service said it is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to each person’s arrest. Philadelphia has also set up a reward for $20,000 for information that leads to an arrest of either escaped inmate.
If you have any information on their whereabouts, please call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS or 911. You can also contact the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-800-336-0102.
Grant had been admitted to the center on September 28, 2022, on criminal conspiracy, violation of the uniform firearms act and drug charges, officials said.
Hurst had been admitted to the center on March, 21, 2021, on four murder charges, including the deadly shooting of Rodney Hargrove outside the same facility back in March of 2021.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also released a statement on the escape Tuesday afternoon.
"The DA’s Office is in contact with the families impacted by the homicides we allege were committed by Ameen Hurst, as well as witnesses who may be called to provide testimony at trial,” Krasner wrote. “The safety of victims and witnesses who may be at risk of intimidation or retaliation is of the highest importance to our prosecutors and to the DA’s Victim Support Services Division.”
The Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, which opened in 1986, has 13 housing units dividing an incarcerated population of adult men.
