Ameen Hurst, who escaped from jail while accused of four murders, appeared in court for the first time Tuesday
Ameen Hurst, now 19, will face trial on escape charges, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Ameen Hurst had nothing to lose.
The 18-year-old charged with four murders was already facing the possibility of life in prison when he and 24-year-old Nasir Grant stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the recreation yard at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Complex, staring down a hole in the fence.
Ten hours later, Grant and Hurst would crawl through that hole to break free, then hop into an Uber, and head toward South Philadelphia, prosecutors said in a court hearing Tuesday.
Their May 7 escape took less than an hour in all, video showed. First, they jammed their neighboring cell doors with cloth to keep it from locking. Then, after a jail guard failed to notice the cells were unlocked, the two slinked out, and slithered across the jail floor toward the recreation area door.
Once outside, they ran toward the hole in the fence they’d identified earlier that had gone unattended to by staff for at least four days, and shimmied through. Then, for the next 20 minutes, they walked the jail’s perimeter fence looking for the best way out, as no guards kept watch, said Assistant District Attorney Brett Zakeosian.
They laid a blanket atop the barbed wire lining the fence, the prosecutor said. Then, they climbed up, catapulted themselves over the third perimeter fence by jumping off a pole, and ran off, Zakeosian said.
Their escape would go unnoticed by jail staff for 19 hours — in part because a guard was sleeping on the job.
Those details were outlined in a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning, the first time Hurst, now 19, had appeared in court since he escaped last May. Municipal Court Judge William Austin Meehan Jr. said prosecutors had established sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
It’s the latest development in an incident that captivated the city and nation, leaving many to question how two men — including one accused of so many violent crimes — could escape with such ease.
And it wouldn’t be the last time that question was raised. In the months after Hurst and Grant broke free, two other adults did the same. A 17-year-old accused of murder also escaped from juvenile jail staff custody earlier this year.
Grant, who had been jailed on gun and drug charges, was caught within about four days, spotted in North Philadelphia, dressed in women’s clothing.
Hurst was captured in Southwest Philadelphia 10 days after his escape.
Four people were later charged with helping them.
There was fellow prisoner Jose Alberto Flores-Huerta, 35, jailed for a fatal beating, who police said served as a lookout as Hurst and Grant crawled across the prison floor. Flores-Huerta gave them a sign when the coast was clear, police said, and he was charged with escape, conspiracy, and related crimes.
Xianni Stallings, 21, was also charged with escape and conspiracy after police said she spoke on the phone with Hurst a few hours before he broke out, then organized an Uber to pick him up outside the jail.
During the Uber ride, police said Hurst called Michael Abrams, 21, a fellow West Philadelphia gang member, and the two met up and went into hiding. Abrams was later charged with escape, conspiracy, and related crimes.
And Hurst’s brother, Amir Woods, was charged with similar offenses after he was found in the car with Hurst at the time of his capture.
Grant, and the four alleged accomplices, were held for court on their charges during earlier proceedings.
Hurst’s attorney declined to comment Tuesday.
Hurst is separately accused of killing four people and critically injuring two others in three separate shootings in a span of less than three months. One of those homicides occurred near the front gates of the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. In that March 2021 shooting, police say, Hurst killed 20-year-old Rodney Hargrove an hour after Hargrove had been released, as he waited outside for relatives to pick him up. Police believe it was a case of mistaken identity, and that Hurst was searching for a rival gang member.
Hurst is scheduled for a waiver trial in those cases in mid-October.
In court Tuesday, Hurst was calm as he watched the videos of himself breaking free. He smiled at one point when prosecutors showed him and Grant shimmying through the hole in the fence.
After about 30 minutes of video, Judge Meehan said the evidence was clear. Hurst, shackled at his wrists and ankles, stood up to leave.
“Love you, Meen,” Hurst’s mother said from the gallery.
“Love you, too,” Hurst replied, before he was led through the inner chambers of the courthouse, and returned to a maximum security state prison.