One inmate in custody after disguising himself as woman, one at large after Philadelphia jail breach: Police

(PHILADELPHIA) — One of the two inmates who had escaped the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center has been taken into custody, police said Thursday night.

Nasir Grant was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals, Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore tweeted.

Grant had disguised himself as a woman and was wearing “full female Muslim garb and a head covering” when he was caught, said Robert Clark, Supervisor Deputy Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Clark said a man resembling Grant left a resident wearing the clothing, which “piqued our interest.” Marshals followed him and arrested him during a felony vehicle stop.

The two men were discovered missing from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center during a headcount Monday afternoon, according to Philadelphia Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney. They had escaped through a hole in the recreation yard’s fence, she said.

They escaped Sunday around 8:30 p.m. and were erroneously considered accounted for during three subsequent headcounts, before being discovered missing during the 3 p.m. Monday headcount, according to Carney.

The commissioner identified the escaped inmates as Ameen Hurst, 18, who was brought to the facility in March 2021 on multiple counts of murder, and Grant, 28, who was being held since September 2022 on charges including criminal conspiracy, narcotics and firearm violations.

Hurst remains at large.

A 21-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday for allegedly helping the two men escape. Xianni Stalling faces charges including escape, criminal conspiracy and hindering apprehension, authorities said. The U.S. Marshals took Stalling into custody Wednesday and transported her to Philadelphia Police Headquarters for questioning, Robert Clark, supervisory deputy for the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Philadelphia, said in a statement.

“We are adamant and working tirelessly to get these two dangerous individuals back in custody,” Carney told reporters during a press briefing Monday evening. “We had protocols in place, and those protocols were not followed, so that will be part of our investigation.”

“But the goal here now is to make sure that these two individuals are apprehended promptly and brought back into custody,” she continued.

The Philadelphia Police Department and U.S. Marshal’s Office are involved in the search.

“We are working very quickly to try to get them back,” Vanore told reporters.

Hurst is considered “very dangerous,” Vanore said. The inmate is accused of killing someone in December 2020, fatally shooting two people in March 2021 and, a few days later, fatally shooting a man who had just been discharged from a Philadelphia correctional facility, Vanore said.

Hurst and Grant were housed in the same unit in different cells in the correctional facility and are believed to be together, authorities said.

Blanche said the correctional facility is on lockdown and she has reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to conduct a “facility vulnerability assessment and security assessment as soon as possible.”

The facility is also reviewing security footage as part of its investigation into the breach and reviewing the three headcounts to see “why they did not detect those two individuals missing,” she said.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said a $20,000 reward for each man is being offered for information that leads to their arrest.

“The No. 1 responsibility right now is to get these guys off the street,” Kenney told reporters.

The next priority is to have the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections assess the system, he said.

“Clearly the system screwed up and people didn’t do what they were supposed to do,” Kenney said. “But we’re going to find out exactly who, exactly how often and what we got to do to shore it back up again.”

Kenney said they will get to the bottom of it and “deal with the fallout from there.”

“I’m really angry about it,” the mayor said. “There’s no reason for this.”

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