CRIME
Escapee Captured At Philadelphia Planet Fitness After 4 Months On The Run
U.S. Marshals Service
A fugitive who escaped custody in early December was captured Friday more than 200 miles away in Philadelphia as he exited a Planet Fitness gym, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Isaiah Tilghman, 33, escaped from the Blair County Prison in Hollidaysburg, Penn., where he was being held after an arrest on drug charges and parole violations, on Dec. 3rd, 2023.
U.S. Marshals pursued numerous leads during the four-month search throughout the state. Last week, the Marshals’ Fugitive Task Force learned Tilghman was in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. Investigators surveilled multiple residences where he was believed to be hiding, and on Friday, observed him operating a black BMW.
Investigators followed Tilghman to the Planet Fitness at 3300 Aramingo Avenue, and called the Philadelphia Police Department and asked for K9 officers to assist in his arrest.
As Tilghman exited the gym at around 11 a.m., he was surrounded by more than 20 law enforcement personnel and taken into custody without incident.
Tilghman has since been charged with escape, flight to avoid apprehension, and other charges in relation to the escape, U.S. Marshals said.
“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 in a statement. 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.
TMX contributed to this article.
