PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man who escaped from prison last year after being charged with four murders, then spent a week and a half on the run before being recaptured, has pleaded guilty to the killings and others crimes.

Ameen Hurst, 20, chained to a wooden chair, pleaded Friday to 28 charges — including four counts of third-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder as well as crimes of escape, conspiracy and ‘firearms, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Hurst was arrested at age 16 in 2021 and charged with four murders and two armed robberies. Law enforcement authorities said he was affiliated with two allied Philadelphia gangs responsible for a wave of violence.

Hurst and another inmate, Nasir Grant, escaped in May last year from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Facility in Northeast Philadelphia. Grant was taken into custody four days later and Hurst was on the run for 10 days before being arrested again.

Prosecutors said the two men cut a hole in the fence surrounding a prison playground and were gone for nearly 19 hours before authorities discovered their disappearance. Authorities also blamed turned off motion detectors and a sleeping guard, and several people were also accused of helping the escapees.

Assistant District Attorney Anthony Voci said investigators are pleased with the outcome of these cases, mainly because the victims’ families will be spared a lengthy trial. However, he said it was “hard to imagine that four young lives were extinguished by someone 16 years old”. This is a tragedy in itself.

He also said Hurst laughed about the killings during calls from behind bars, showing “a level of callousness and callousness that is frightening.” Assistant Prosecutor Brett Zakeosian said that while on the run, Hurst rented a recording studio and recorded a new rap song that he has since posted online.

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