A 27-year-old man, Jaliel Ali-Johnson, who escaped custody from Pennsylvania State Constables while being transported to George W. Hill Correctional Facility, was captured Tuesday afternoon following a dramatic chase that ended in a crash along Baltimore Pike in Nether Providence Township.
After slipping out of his handcuffs, Ali-Johnson stole a vehicle and led law enforcement through Media, ultimately crashing into a red pickup truck near Smedley Park - just down the street from a busy shopping corridor anchored by the Springfield Mall - before fleeing into a wooded area—where he was apprehended roughly 20 minutes later.
The harrowing incident prompted local authorities to issue a temporary shelter-in-place advisory for residents while multiple police units—including K-9 teams—searched the surrounding woods, ensuring public safety was swiftly restored.
Ali-Johnson was originally detained on loitering, prowling, drug charges, and false identification but escaped en route to incarceration by slipping out of his handcuffs.
After commandeering a silver sedan, he crashed into a truck at Baltimore Pike and Turner Road, then fled on foot into nearby woods before being arrested near I-476 after a 20-minute search.
The truck driver, Charles Borromeo, sustained minor injuries but is recovering at home, while local residents described the event as intense yet effectively contained.
