PHILADELPHIA — A man who escaped from a Philadelphia prison last year after being charged with four murders and then passed A week and a half on the run before being recaptured. He has pleaded guilty to the murders and other crimes.

Ameen HurstThe 20-year-old, chained to a wooden chair, pleaded guilty Friday to 28 charges, including four counts of third-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, as well as escape, conspiracy and firearms offenses, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Hurst was arrested at age 16 in 2021 and charged with four murders and two armed robberies. Law enforcement authorities said he was affiliated with two allied Philadelphia gangs responsible for a wave of violence.

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Hurst and another inmate, Nasir Grant, escaped in May last year from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center in Northeast Philadelphia. Grant was arrested four days later and Hurst was on the run for 10 days before being arrested again.

Prosecutors said the two cut a hole in a fence surrounding a recreation yard at the prison and were gone for nearly 19 hours before authorities learned they were missing. Authorities also blamed disconnected motion sensors and a sleeping guard, and several people were also accused of helping the fugitives.

Deputy Prosecutor Anthony Voci said investigators are pleased with the outcome of the cases, primarily because the victims’ families will be spared a lengthy trial. However, he said it was “hard to imagine four young lives being snuffed out by someone who was 16. That’s a tragedy in itself.”

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He also said Hurst laughed about the killings on calls from behind bars, displaying “a level of callousness and ruthlessness that is terrifying.” Assistant District Attorney Brett Zakeosian said that while on the run, Hurst rented a recording studio and recorded a new rap song that he has since released online.

Defense attorney Gary Silver declined to comment Friday. Hurst is expected to be sentenced in two weeks.