PHILADELPHIA — A teenager awaiting trial in a murder case who escaped outside a Philadelphia hospital last week was captured Sunday, police said.
Shane Pryor was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service, said Sgt. Eric Gripp of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Marshals will turn the 17-year-old over to homicide detectives, Gripp said.
“A special thank you goes to the media and the public for sharing their tips and information,” Gripp said in a statement. “No further information is available at this time.”
Pryor was 14 when he was charged with murder in October 2020 and has been in a juvenile facility since then. He is charged with murder, conspiracy and gun crimes.
Pryor’s attorney, Paul DiMaio, has said his client has always maintained his innocence. He noted that a judge recently denied a request to send Pryor’s case back to juvenile court, which may have caused Pryor to lose hope.
Pryor’s mother had urged her son to turn himself in. She said the teen fled custody because he turns 18 in two weeks, which would allow him to be transferred to an adult prison.
Authorities said Pryor fled Wednesday from the emergency room ramp of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he had been taken with a hand injury.
Less than an hour after fleeing on foot, the teen was seen on video getting into a car that drove him away, authorities said. The driver, 18-year-old Michael Diggs, was later arrested. Diggs is charged with hindering apprehension, escape, criminal conspiracy and use of a communications facility, city police announced Friday. The city attorney’s office said Friday it had not been assigned to the case.
Surveillance video shows Pryor going in and out of a number of buildings in the area after his escape, said Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Frank Vanore. He was also seen talking to people and “asking for a phone… whatever he could do to leave the area,” Vanore said.
Investigators believe he called Diggs, who then picked him up in a car. Police stopped the vehicle in the city Wednesday evening, Vanore said, but Pryor was not in the car. Diggs and another person who was in the vehicle were interviewed by police, but no charges have been filed against the other person.
