An escaped inmate who has been on the run in Western Pennsylvania since early December was finally captured by the authorities as he was leaving a Planet Fitness, according to Fox News Digital.
The U.S. Marshals Service Philadelphia took Isaiah Robert Tilghman, 33, into custody on Friday in the 3300 block of Aramingo Avenue in Philadelphia.
Tilghman has been on the run since December after he was arrested on drug charges and parole violations. After his escape, he stole a red 2011 Ford F-150.
The prison from which he escaped was about 200 miles west of Philadelphia, where Tilghman was finally spotted on Friday. The authorities followed the escapee as he drove a black BMW to a Planet Fitness, according to the report.
CBS News reported that Tilghman had been spotted by authorities in Kensington earlier in the week, but they did not immediately arrest him.
Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force agents spotted Tilghman again on Friday in the 1800 block of East Schiller Street and proceeded to follow him to a Planet Fitness location. He was arrested and taken into custody around 11:00 a.m. after he exited the gym.
“This arrest was a result of Fugitive Task Forces in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, diligently working together, to capture a dangerous escapee,” Robert Clark, supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force, said, per the report.
“The Marshals Service is unequivocally the best in the business at finding people who do not wish to be found and this arrest reinforces that fact.”
U.S. Marshals stated that Tilghman was currently being held in Philadelphia and will soon be moved back to Blair County to face additional charges.
Just three days after Tilghman’s escape, the authorities said they located a red Ford F-150 that was similar to the one the inmate allegedly stole. Investigators believe Tilghman switched the plates on the vehicle shortly after he escaped.
The stolen vehicle was recovered on December 15.
Tilghman managed to escape the prison facility in early December by making his way through a ventilation shaft just outside his cell door, according to another report.
He reportedly used his jail clothing to make a rope that he used to climb to a nearby platform. He eventually managed to slip through an unsecured window and onto the roof.
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