What we know about the men who escaped from a Philly jail
Two men, including one charged with four homicides, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center Sunday night — and it went unnoticed for almost an entire day.
Two men, including one charged with four homicides, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center on Sunday night — and it went unnoticed for almost an entire day, jail officials said.
Philadelphia police described one of the escapees, Ameen Hurst, 18, as a “very dangerous individual” and are asking for the public’s help in tracking him down. Hurst has been charged with committing four homicides in three separate cases between 2020 and 2021.
» READ MORE: Two men, including one charged with 4 murders, escaped from a Philly jail, police say
The second man, Nasir Grant, 24, was in custody on drug and gun charges.
Here’s what we know about the two men and how they escaped.
Who is Ameen Hurst?
Hurst was just 16 years old when he was arrested in April 2021.
He has been charged with killing four people and injuring two others in three shootings between December 2020 and March 2021:
On Dec. 24, 2020, police say, Hurst fatally shot Dyewou Nyshawn Scruggs, 20, who was streaming live on social media when he was shot.
On March 11, 2021, police say, Hurst shot four men sitting in a parked car on the 1400 block of North 76th Street, in Overbrook Park. Two men — Naquan Smith, 24, and Tamir Brown, 17 — were killed.
One week later, police say, Hurst fatally shot 20-year-old Rodney Hargrove near the front gates of the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. Hargrove had been released from jail, and was waiting outside for relatives to pick him up when he was killed March 18.
After Hurst was arrested, police say, they also connected him to two robberies. He was charged with robbery, illegal gun possession, conspiracy, and related offenses in those cases.
He was being held without bail, and had a status listing before a judge scheduled for June.
Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore described Hurst as “a very dangerous individual,” and said, “We are looking for the public’s help to get him back.”
Who is Nasir Grant?
Grant was arrested in September and charged with six counts of illegal gun possession, manufacturing and delivering drugs, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, and related charges.
He was being held on $500,000 bail, and had a jury trial scheduled for January 2024.
How did they escape?
Union and jail officials say multiple system failures, including a temporary staff shortage, led Hurst’s and Grant’s escapes to go undetected for almost an entire day.
The two men were not cellmates, but were housed in the same unit, said Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney.
That unit was unstaffed Sunday evening, said David Robinson, president of Local 159 of AFSCME District Council 33, the correctional officers’ union.
The two men went into the outside yard area and were then able to escape through a triangular-shaped hole that had been cut in the fence, Carney said, adding that it was not unusual for them to have had access to the yard in the evening hours.
But according to Robinson, two critical posts outside — the armed perimeter patrol and an armed post at the gate to the back road, known as Post 13 — were also unstaffed, and the two men escaped undetected.
“These two vital posts were closed — and they have been closed for, honestly, almost a year,” Robinson said. “When you cut posts and you cut corners, this is where we’re at.”
Carney said she has asked the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to assess all of the Philadelphia jails for security weaknesses.
Staff conducted three inmate counts before it was realized that Grant and Hurst were gone, and none “indicated an escape,” John Mitchell, a spokesperson for the Department of Prisons, said Tuesday.
It’s unclear how those counts failed to note that Hurst and Grant were missing. Mitchell said that is part of an internal investigation.
A preliminary report obtained by The Inquirer indicates that staff were made aware of their absence only after other prisoners notified them on Monday afternoon. A prison spokesperson disputed that, saying the men’s absence was noted during an afternoon count.
The flash report also said that “both incarcerated people were able to leave the grounds undetected because of post being closed due to temporary staff shortage per the order of the executive office.” The lieutenant whose name is listed on the flash report, Sheneka Golden-Deveaux, could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
What should the public do?
Police are looking for the public’s help to find the men.
Authorities ask that anyone with information call 911 or Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153.
Have there been other issues at the jail?
The escape occurred less than a week after the correctional officers’ union, Local 159 of AFSCME District Council 33, entered a vote of no confidence in Carney’s leadership. They said she had failed to adequately respond to a staffing crisis that has risen to more than 800 vacancies, or 40% short of a full complement.
Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center is part of a jail complex that houses about 4,300 people on State Road in Northeast Philadelphia. The jails have been subject to a monitor appointed by a federal judge since last year, in response to a class-action lawsuit alleging inhumane and unconstitutional prison conditions.