Pennsylvania State Police reported that a prisoner escaped custody during transport in Chester Heights Borough on the afternoon of August 19, 2025, before being recaptured following a multi-agency search.
According to investigators, Pennsylvania State Constables were transporting 27-year-old Jaliel Nafi Ali-Johnson of Philadelphia to Delaware County Prison when he fled from their vehicle at approximately 2:33 p.m. near State Route 1 and Stoneybank Road. After escaping on foot towards Valleybrook Road, Ali-Johnson allegedly stole a vehicle parked on Highland Drive and fled northbound on Route 1.
An officer with the Upper Providence Police Department observed the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but Ali-Johnson refused to stop, leading police on a pursuit through Media Borough. The chase ended when his vehicle collided with an occupied pickup truck at Baltimore Pike and Turner Road. He then abandoned the vehicle and fled into a wooded area on foot.
Pennsylvania State Police, along with officers from Media Borough, Upper Providence, Springfield, and Nether Providence Police Departments, established a perimeter around the area. After a brief search, Ali-Johnson was taken into custody as he emerged from the wood line near the southbound Route 1 ramp to Baltimore Pike.
He was transported to the Pennsylvania State Police Barracks in Media for processing and faces multiple charges, including escape, fleeing and eluding law enforcement, resisting arrest, and recklessly endangering another person.
