Escaped teen killing suspect captured in Philadelphia, authorities say
By Danny Freeman, CNN
(CNN) — A 17-year-old suspect in a 2020 killing who escaped from custody during a medical transport Wednesday was captured Sunday evening, according to Philadelphia police.
“A short time ago, escapee Shane Pryor was taken into custody by the USMS at 3rd and the Boulevard without incident. He is currently en route to the PPD Homicide Unit,” Sgt. Eric Gripp with the Philadelphia Police Department told CNN Sunday.
“A special thanks goes out to the media and public for sharing their tips and information. No further information is available at this time,” Gripp added.
The teenager was on a bus at the time of his capture at N 3rd St and Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia, a US Marshals spokesperson told CNN.
Pryor, who is suspected of killing a woman in 2020, escaped just before noon Wednesday while he was being transported to the hospital in the University City neighborhood for a hand injury, police previously said.
An 18-year-old was arrested Friday for allegedly aiding in Pryor’s escape.
Pryor escaped from detention center staff as he was getting out of a vehicle in the driveway of the hospital, police said. Police are investigating how exactly Pryor was able to escape – it’s unclear if he broke free of his restraints, which are typically used to transport suspects, or if he was not restrained during the transport, a department spokesperson said.
According to police, Pryor has been incarcerated in a juvenile detention center awaiting trial for murder charges since he was 14.
In a phone interview Thursday afternoon before Pryor’s capture, defense attorney Paul DiMaio told CNN his teen client has “always maintained his innocence” in the murder charges he’s facing.
“He said, ‘I didn’t do this,’ and he said it over and over again,” DiMaio said. “I have no idea why he ran.”
DiMaio also told CNN his client may have been frustrated because of a December court ruling that kept his murder case out of juvenile court.
“The only thing I can speculate is I know from talking to his mother and talking to him (that) he was really scared and really frustrated that the system kind of failed him (by trying him as an adult),” Pryor’s attorney said.
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