Trending
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The inmate who escaped from Blair County Prison in early December was arrested late Friday morning in Philadelphia.
Isaiah R. Tilghman Jr., 33, was taken into custody after exiting a Planet Fitness on the 3300 block of Aramingo Avenue of the city's Port Richmond neighborhood, the U.S. Marshals Service announced Friday.
KYW Newsradio of Philadelphia reported Friday that the Marshals Service had gained information during the week about Tilghman's possible whereabouts and set up surveillance in those areas.
As Tilghman exited Planet Fitness about 11 a.m., he was surrounded by about 20 police officers and investigating agents who arrested him without incident, KYW reported.
"This arrest was a result of Fugitive Task Forces in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, diligently working together, to capture a dangerous escapee," Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark, Eastern Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force, said in a statement released Friday. "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."
Tilghman remained at large for almost 16 weeks after escaping Dec. 3 from the county prison. His pending escape charge, filed by Hollidaysburg police, indicates that he got into a ventilation shaft and used a homemade rope of prison clothing to access an unsecured window and the prison's roof.
He is accused of fleeing Blair County in a truck that he stole in Lakemont, which was found abandoned on Dec. 15 in Philadelphia.
At the time of the escape, Tilghman was facing drug-trafficking offenses from a May 2023 arrest in Blair County, when police connected him to the seizure of more than $100,000 of illegal drugs including fentanyl, methamphetamine and crack cocaine. He was also accused of violating parole associated with previous drug-trafficking offenses.
District Attorney Pete Weeks said Friday that he welcomed news of Tilghman's arrest.
"We are extremely grateful for the efforts of the U.S. Marshals and the Pennsylvania State Police for their assistance in locating and apprehending Mr. Tilghman who can now be prosecuted for his charges," Weeks said. "His apprehension would not have been possible without their dedication and hard work."
The U.S. Marshals Service indicated that Tilghman was being held Friday at an undisclosed correctional facility while awaiting his transfer back to Blair County's prison.
Weeks said he will be filing a motion seeking to have Tilghman's bail option revoked. It's currently $500,000 cash on the drug-trafficking offenses.
Weeks said he will also move forward with prosecuting Tilghman on the escape-related charges and for theft of a motor vehicle.
County leaders indicated that after Tilghman escaped, efforts were made to determine how the inmate was able to escape.
The Mirror reported Thursday that an in-house investigation prompted commissioners on March 12 to approve the firing of five corrections officers for job-performance flaws in connection with the escape.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.