Woman charged with aiding 2 prisoners' escape from Philadelphia prison
UPDATE: Man who escaped from Philadelphia prison arrested by U.S. Marshals
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 21-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with helping two men escape from a Philadelphia prison. Court documents show Xianni Stalling, of North Philly, was arrested on Wednesday morning on the 2800 block of North 22nd Street by U.S. Marshals.
Investigators believe Stalling was involved in assisting 18-year-old Ameen Hurst and 24-year-old Nasir Grant to escape from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center in Holmesburg.
Grant was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals Thursday night.
Stalling has been charged with escape, criminal use of communication facility, conspiracy and related charges.
The District Attorney's Office told CBS News Philadelphia Stalling was previously arrested in 2022 for a domestic violence incident involving a relative. She was released then for a lack of evidence.
Neighbors in North Philadelphia are stunned after the arrest of Stalling.
"That's horrible," Cynthia Simms said.
"It's just strange what's going on in this world," she added. "It's just unsafe."
Authorities say Stalling received a phone call from one of the inmates before the escape. But police wouldn't identify who made the call or when.
"They want to establish a timeline before, during and after the escape," William Latorre, a retired Pennsylvania State Police Sgt., said.
Latorre is not affiliated with this case. But he has worked on other prison escapes and says there are signs in this case that pointed to the inmates getting help from the outside.
"They saw a vulnerability and at the time they decided to exploit it and escape," he said. "Then they, as prisoners, would have left the facility with nothing. And so they would find themselves on the other side of the fence figuring out their next step and likely making contact with someone they know."
Hurst and Grant escaped from the prison on Sunday, but police claim they weren't notified until Monday.
Police claim the two were seen on video cutting a hole in the fence and then escaping.
Hurst was in custody for four homicides.
Grant was in custody for narcotics violations, theft and firearm charges.
It's unclear how Stalling is connected to the escaped prisoners. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 30. Stalling is being represented by the Philadelphia Defenders Association, which had no comment. She's being held on $500,000 bail.
With Grant in custody, Hurst remains on the run.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.
"Law enforcement works long and hard and many, many hours pursuing relentlessly all leads to bring that person back into custody," Latorre said.
