PHILADELPHIA- A man who escaped prison last year after being accused of four murders and remained on the run for a week and a half before being recaptured has admitted the murders and other offences.

Ameen Hurst, 20, who was chained to a wooden chair, entered a plea Friday to 28 charges, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer; of which there were four counts of third-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, as well as escape, conspiracy and firearms offenses. reported.

Hurst was arrested in 2021, when he was 16, and charged with four murders and two armed robberies. Law enforcement officials said he had ties to two allied Philadelphia gangs responsible for a wave of violence.

Hurst and fellow inmate Nasir Grant escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Prison in northeast Philadelphia in May last year. Grant was taken into custody four days later and Hurst remained a fugitive for 10 days until he was re-arrested.

Prosecutors said the pair cut a hole in the fence surrounding the prison recreation area and disappeared for about 19 hours before authorities learned they were missing. Authorities also blamed turned-off motion sensors and sleep protection, and several people were also accused of aiding the escapees.

Deputy District Attorney Anthony Voci said investigators were pleased with the outcome of the cases, mostly because the victims’ families will be spared a lengthy trial. But he said it was “hard to imagine the lives of four young people being destroyed by a 16-year-old. That in itself is a tragedy.”

He also said Hurst laughed about the murders in phone calls from behind bars and showed “a frightening level of callousness and lack of remorse.” Deputy District Attorney Brett Zakeosian said Hurst rented a recording studio while on the run and recorded a new rap song, which he later posted online.

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