U.S. Marshals tracked down two Pennsylvania men after they fled Philadelphia detention center
Two escaped prisoners were arrested Monday evening at a motel in Cinnaminson after a 90-minute standoff with officers, authorities said.
Ryan Flynn, 29, and James Williamson, 36, both Pennsylvania residents, escaped from a detention center in Philadelphia early Saturday morning, according to Robert Clark, supervisor deputy for the U.S. Marshal Service’s Fugitive Unit in Philadelphia.
“They went out through the ceiling into an adjacent building,” Clark said.
Authorities tracked the men to a motel on Route 130 in Cinnaminson, and officers from the Marshals Service and the Cinnaminson Police Department surrounded the motel, Clark said.
When authorities ordered the suspects to come out of the room, an associate of Flynn and Williamson emerged and confirmed the two wanted men were inside, Clark said. However, they refused to leave the motel room.
“We believed them to be armed,” Clark said.
“We were eventually able to get them on the phone through the hotel and negotiated their surrender,” he added.
After an hour-and-a-half, authorities apprehended the men without incident, according to Clark. Officers did not recover any weapons at the scene.
Clark and the Cinnaminson Police Department declined to identify the motel where the standoff took place.
Flynn and Williamson were initially arrested by Bensalem police and charged with narcotics and firearms offenses, Clark said.
He said they were taken to Hoffman Hall, a facility in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia. Bucks County has a contract with Hoffman Hall to house inmates, according to Clark.
Clark said the Flynn and Williamson used a light fixture to climb up into the ceiling. From there, they navigated their way into an adjacent building called Coleman Hall and escaped, according to Clark.
After being recaptured, Flynn and Williamson were charged by Cinnaminson police as fugitives from justice, Clark said. That allows authorities to transport them back to Pennsylvania, where they will also face escape charges, he added.
Clark said the operation to apprehend Flynn and Williamson was possible through the coordination of various law enforcement agencies, and he thanked Cinnaminson police.
“We definitely want to give Cinnaminson credit for their assistance,” he said.
Cinnaminson Police Lt. Rich Calabrese said the Marshals Service was the primary agency involved in the arrest and that his department sent officers after being alerted of the situation at the motel.
