Teenager awaiting trial in 2020 homicide who fled outside hospital is captured in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A teenager awaiting trial in a homicide case who escaped outside a Philadelphia hospital last week was captured on Sunday, police said.

Shane Pryor was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service, said Sgt. Eric Gripp with the Philadelphia Police Department.

The marshals will hand the 17-year-old over to police homicide detectives, Gripp said.

“A special thanks goes out to the media and public for sharing their tips and information,” Gripp said in a statement. “No further information is available at this time.”

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Pryor was 14 when he was charged in an October 2020 homicide and has been in a juvenile facility ever since. He is charged with murder, conspiracy and firearms crimes.

Pryor’s lawyer, Paul DiMaio, has said his client has always maintained his innocence. He noted a judge recently declined a request to send Pryor’s case back to juvenile court, which may have led Pryor to lose hope.

Pryor’s mother had urged her son to turn himself in. She has said the teen fled custody because he turns 18 in two weeks, opening him to being transferred to an adult prison.

Authorities said Pryor fled Wednesday from the driveway of the emergency room at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he had been taken with a hand injury.

Less than an hour after he fled on foot, the teen was spotted on video getting into a car that drove him away, authorities said. The driver, 18-year-old Michael Diggs, was later arrested. Diggs is accused of hindering apprehension, escape, criminal conspiracy and use of a communication facility, city police announced Friday. The city public defender’s office said Friday it had not been assigned to the case.

Security video shows Pryor went in and out of a few buildings in the area after his escape, said Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Frank Vanore. He also was seen talking to people, “asking for a phone ... whatever he could do to leave the area,” Vanore said.

Investigators believe he called Diggs, who they said then picked him up in a car. Police stopped the vehicle in the city on Wednesday night, Vanore said, but Pryor was not in the car. Diggs and another person who was in the vehicle were questioned by police, but no charges have been filed against the other person.