Affidavit reveals new details about escaped inmates' prison break
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- New information is giving insight into what happened at the Philadelphia Industrial Correction Center immediately after two inmates escaped last week.
While both inmates have since been recaptured, new details indicate that the escape was planned well in advance and executed within hours.
"For both of them to use other means and other resources to hide in the city and move around with assistance, they did orchestrate this plan well but not well enough because Grant was captured in three days and Hurst was captured a week later," said William Latorre, a retired Pennsylvania State Police sergeant.
CBS News Philadelphia learned Thursday that Ameen Hurst and Nasir Grant were able to make their break in about three hours. We've also learned that an Uber driver picked up the inmates after their escape.
An affidavit shows the escape was set into motion in the evening hours of May 7.
At 5:15 p.m. and 5:32 p.m., records show Hurst called a phone number. During the phone call, police said an unknown man joined the line and said, "Meet at the bridge behind the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center."
About three hours later, at 8:30 p.m., the affidavit states that "two prisoners can be observed on video leaving through a hole in the fence of the outside yard. From there, the two escapees were able to climb over two additional barbed wire fences."
Police said those two prisoners were Hurst and Grant.
However, there are still questions about how they were able to leave the facility.
When asked exactly when the hole was cut into the fence, the prison department told CBS News Philadelphia that the escape is still under investigation.
Once outside the prison, the escapees were able to change clothes, according to sources.
After leaving PICC, the inmates met an Uber driver, according to the affidavit. An Uber account using the first name "Xianni" was used to make arrangements for Hurst and Grant to be picked up from the intersection of Tyson and Frankford, records show.
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The pickup location is just two miles from the prison. Hurst and Grant walked to the Uber location because no one showed up behind the bridge to meet them as discussed on that jailhouse phone call, according to sources.
Police said Xianni, the name on the Uber account, is the same name associated with the cell phone Ameen Hurst called while he was in prison shortly before the escape.
During the Uber ride, Hurst called 21-year-old Michael Abrams, who is allegedly associated with the same gang that Hurst also allegedly belongs to, police said.
The Uber took the men to 15th and Jackson streets in South Philadelphia, where sources said the two inmates went their separate ways.
Sources said from there, Hurst met up with his brother, Amir Woods, as well as Abrams.
Sources also said the three went to New York City.
During this course of events, prison staff still had not realized anyone had escaped. It's not clear how long they stayed in New York City, but the new details match what investigators said Wednesday.
"Our fugitive investigation took us to three states. It took us to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it took us down to Delaware and it took us down to NY. We had credible tips in all three places," said U.S. Marshal Service Supervisory Deputy Robert Clark.
While investigators have not yet revealed what connection Delaware has to this case, we do know both inmates were caught a few days after the escape.
Latorre commends U.S. Marshals for making the arrests of the two inmates – who were believed to be dangerous – without incident.
Four people have been arrested and charged with helping the inmates escape.
