Philly prison escapee Ameen Hurst held on all charges following 2023 10-day-long manhunt
PHILADELPHIA - A man accused of four murders and of escaping from Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center almost a year ago appeared in court Tuesday.
Ameen Hurst was held on all charges related to the escape.
Some of the shocking videos previously played for City Council by District Attorney Larry Krasner back in November, revealed how Hurst and the second defendent, Nasir Grant, allegedly escaped from PICC back on May 7th, played again during the preliminary hearing Tuesday.
The prosecution called Captain Ivan Marshall of the Office of Professional Compliance for the city’s Department of Prisons as their only witness, and played a series of videos from inside the prison on the day and night of the alleged escape.
Captain Marshall testified that before Hurst and Grant were able to walk out of the doors on the night of May 7, the pair was seen on video putting something on the locking mechanisms of the door to prevent them from locking.
The video also showed a correctional officer walking by the doors and looking inside the windows of the cell block before the escape. Captain Marshall testified the protocol is to make sure doors are secure by pulling them.
The prosecution played video showing fellow inmate, Jose Flores-Huerta, one of four others also charged in connection to the scape, pacing around the cell block and common area for several minutes, which Captain Marshall said he was not permitted to do.
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Investigators previously announced that Hurst and Grant escaped through a hole in the fence that had been cut seven weeks earlier.
During Tuesday's hearing, Captain Marshall said the pair escaped through the final exterior fence of PICC by throwing clothing and a blanket on the barbed wire and using a pole to catapult over it.
He added that the post to oversee that area was not manned by a correctional officer at the time.
Gina Amoriello, Hurst’s attorney for charges related to the alleged escape, asked the judge to discharge hindering apprehension, but Hurst was ultimately held on all charges.
Hurst’s mom, present in the courtroom for the hearing, said "I love you" as Hurst walked out in handcuffs.
She told FOX 29 off camera that she is not happy with how he is being treated in prison.
Hurst’s arraignment is scheduled for April 30th.