Court docs show how police nabbed woman accused of aiding Philadelphia prison escape
PHILADELPHIA - Court documents reveal how investigators were able to tie a formerly incarcerated woman to the orchestrated escape of two Philadelphia inmates that sparked a citywide manhunt.
Xianni Stalling, 21, was taken into custody Thursday in connection to the Sunday night escape of Ameen Hust, 18, and Nasir Grant, 24, from Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.
The inmates were absent for three headcounts in the hours following their escape, but prison officials say they were not aware Hurst and Grant were gone until late Monday afternoon.
Sources told FOX 29 the inmates' cell doors and the door to a recreation yard were left unlocked, which allowed the duo to pass through undetected before escaping through a hole in a fence.
From there, an affidavit claims Hurst and Grant were able to climb over two additional barbed wire fences and onto the 8300 block of State Road.
Documents show that three hours before the escape, Hurst had a phone conversation with an unknown man during which he made arrangements to be picked up near a bridge behind the prison.
Authorities believe that Xianni Stallings helped facilitate that conversation, and alluded to Hurst and Grant's escape during a video call with another prisoner a day later.
During that conversation, court documents say Stallings appeared shocked that the unnamed inmate she spoke to hadn't heard about the prison break.
"You had the opportunity to run from jail," Stallings is allegedly heard saying. "You didn't hear nothing about no inmates leaving?…They just climbed the fence and run."
That conversation raised a red flag for investigators since the escape was not known to correctional staff, Philadelphia police or the media for another two hours.
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Police sources say that Stallings met Hurst when she was locked up on charges related to a stabbing last fall. She was let out in February when those charges were dropped.
Hurst, who was incarcerated on charges stemming from four murders in three separate shootings, is still being sought by police. Grant, who was originally being held on a weapons charge, was taken into custody Thursday in North Philadelphia.
Authorities have also accused a fellow inmate, 35-year-old Jose Flores-Huerta, for helping Hurst and Grant pull off their escape plot. Flores-Huerta was jailed for a deadly brawl outside Pat's King of Steaks in Fall 2021.
The Philadelphia Police Department and U.S. Marshals have an outstanding $25k reward for information that leads to Hurst's arrest.