May 15, 2023
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Michael Abrams, 21, is charged with helping inmates Ameen Hurst and Nasir Grant escape from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center. Grant is in custody and Hurst remains missing.
Authorities have made a fourth arrest connected to two prisoners' escape from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, according to multiple reports.
Michael Abrams, 21, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals and has been charged with criminal conspiracy, hindering apprehension, escape and related offenses.
Inmates Ameen Hurst, 18, and Nasir Grant, 24, escaped from the prison in Holmesburg on May 7. They left the prison grounds through a hole cut into a fence at the facility's perimeter. Hurst was in prison for four homicide charges while Grant was in on gun and drug charges.
Grant was arrested by U.S. Marshals last Thursday in North Philadelphia. Hurst remains at large.
Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore told the Inquirer that Abrams helped secure transportation for Hurst's and Grant's escape. No other details have been released about Abrams's involvement.
Last Thursday, 21-year-old Xianni Stalling was arrested for allegedly communicating with one of the inmates prior to the jailbreak, police said. Stalling is charged with conspiracy and hindering apprehension.
Then on Friday, Jose Alberto Flores-Huerta, 35, was charged for his alleged role in helping Hurst and Grant escape. Flores-Huerta is in prison on homicide charges stemming from fatal beating of a New York man outside of Pat's King of Steaks in South Philly in September 2021. Flores-Huerta has since been charged with conspiracy and escape.
The manhunt for the escaped prisoners has further exposed tensions within the prisons department. The union representing correctional officers contends that staffing shortages contributed to the inmates' escape. Prior to that, the union had voted "no confidence" in Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney.
Carney said the prison's staffing at the time of the escape is part of an ongoing internal investigation. Philadelphia police and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections also are investigating the escape.
The city and U.S. Marshals are offering $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of Hurst, who is considered dangerous. Anyone with information on their whereabouts can call the Northeast Detectives at (215) 686-3153, the police tip line at (215) 546-TIPS, or 911.
