Escaped teenage murder suspect captured after 4 days on the run

The 17-year-old murder suspect who escaped juvenile custody last week in University City was apprehended Sunday night with a handcuff key, federal agents said.

Shane Pryor was arrested without incident at around 6:30 p.m. after members of the U.S. Marshals Service boarded a SEPTA bus at 3rd Street and Roosevelt Boulevard in Feltonville, authorities said.

He had spent more than four days on the run after breaking free from Juvenile Justice Services Center (JJSC) staff on Wednesday as they brought him to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment for a hand injury.

“Our goal was to shrink his world, cut his resources off and arrest associates, and that’s exactly what we accomplished tonight,” Robert Clark, supervisory deputy for the local U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, told reporters Sunday.

Clark said agents who patted down Pryor discovered a black handcuff key. He was not sure whether the device – widely available online – was used during the escape.

Investigators believe that Pryor was “quasi homeless” and spending time in the Hunting Park neighborhood, Clark said. Law enforcement canvassed the area and boarded the bus after seeing him get on the vehicle at 9th Street and the Boulevard, he added.

Pryor’s mother, through multiple media outlets, urged her son to turn himself in, and she suggested he fled custody because he turns 18 in two weeks and could have been transferred to an adult jail.

Clark credited a Target employee for helping searchers narrow in on Pryor. Authorities received a tip that he bought clothing on Friday at the store at Bustleton and Bleigh avenues in Rhawnhurst and were able to recover surveillance footage, he said.

“Having that employee identify him and calling that tip in was absolutely crucial,” Clark said.

Minutes after fleeing through the parking lot at CHOP’s emergency room, Pryor borrowed a cellphone to call 18-year-old Michael Diggs, who allegedly picked him up about 30 minutes later, authorities said.

Diggs, of Delaware County, was arrested later Wednesday and charged with aiding Pryor’s escape, criminal conspiracy and related crimes. His bail was set at 10% of $500,000, according to court records.

In the wake of the escape, the JJSC has launched an internal investigation, officials said.

“As part of the investigation, relevant policies, procedures, and practices will be reviewed and a determination made as to whether changes are warranted,” said a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Human Services, which operates the facility.

Pryor had been behind bars since October 2020, when he was 14, after he and another teenager were charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 54-year-old Tanya Harris in Holmesburg.

He was still awaiting trial. NBC10 reported that the delay was due, in part, to Pryor having had five different lawyers representing him over the years.

Pryor’s current attorney, Paul DiMaio, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.