PA Prison Escapee's Brother Charged

PHILADELPHIA — The brother of one of the two Philadelphia prison escapees is now the sixth person to be charged in the escape incident.

Amir Woods, 24, of Philadelphia, has been charged with criminal conspiracy, hindering apprehension, escape, and related crimes in connection with the escape of his brother, Ameen Hurst.

Woods was taken into custody Wednesday along with Hurst.

Hurst, who is 18 and was being held on murder charges, was taken into custody at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning at 6100 Washington Avenue without incident.

Woods was initially taken into custody for questioning, the U.S. Marshals Service said, but was ultimately charged and held on 10 percent of $1 million bail.

Woods and five others, including Hurst, are charged in connection with Hurst and Nasir Grant's escape from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center the evening of May 7.

Grant, 24, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals Service agents and Philadelphia Police May 11 at 28th and Dauphin streets in Philadelphia. He was reportedly disguised as a woman when he was apprehended.

Inmate Jose Flores-Huerta, 35, of Philadelphia, was charged with escape and conspiracy in connection with the incident, in which he is accused of acting as a lookout.

He is being held at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center on murder and related charges for the beating death of 28-year-old Isidro Cortez outside Pat's King of Steaks in Philadelphia on Sept. 16, 2021.

Authorities charged 21-year-old Xianni Stalling, 21, with conspiracy, hindering apprehension, and more crimes in connection with their escape. She is believed to have helped them find a ride after their escape.

And Michael Abrams, 21, of Philadelphia, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Berwyn Monday after being accused of helping Grant and Hurst escape.

Abrams is charged with criminal conspiracy, hindering apprehension, escape, and use of a communication facility, court records show.

Authorities spent 18 hours Tuesday into Wednesday negotiating with Hurst's family members, but eventually took an "enforcement action" to bring Hurst into custody after he refused to turn himself in.

Surveillance team members saw Hurst and two others get into a vehicle, then the vehicle was stopped, according to Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark.

He was taken out of the vehicle and placed into custody without incident, Clark said.

Clark said he was surprised that Grant and Hurst were in the Philadelphia area, and said their investigation spanned three states.

Hurst is accused of shooting and killing a man on Christmas Eve 2020, shooting and killing two people and hurting two others in March 2021, and fatally shooting and killing a man outside the same facility he escaped from about a week later.

The pair escaped through a fence that they cut a hole in, according to authorities.