A Mississippi sheriff’s department says it has set new security procedures since an inmate escaped and fled to Chicago. The fugitive, Joshua Zimmerman, was arrested last week after a 15-hour standoff with police at a restaurant near the Democratic National Convention.
Joshua Zimmerman, who escaped from a Mississippi courthouse and is wanted on murder and armed robbery charges, is taken into custody following a standoff with police at a restaurant in Chicago on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. Joshua Zimmerman, who escaped from a Mississippi courthouse and is wanted on murder and armed robbery charges, is taken into custody following a standoff with police at a restaurant in Chicago on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024.
“The weaknesses that were exposed from Zimmerman’s escape have been rectified, and we have implemented additional security measures that we will not disclose to the public for obvious safety reasons,” the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Wednesday.in DeSoto County, Ronnie Hunt, has been charged with conveying articles useful for the escape of a prisoner, Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin said Tuesday.
Investigators said last week that they believe Zimmerman was working at the seafood restaurant where he was captured. It is about a half-mile from the United Center, where the political convention was being held. The Marshals Service said there was “no connection or threat to the event or those attending.”
According to court records in Harris County, Texas, Zimmerman is accused of fatally shooting a woman, Keyanna Mercer, at a Houston motel on Sept. 2, 2023. The two were asked to leave the motel after multiple complaints of fighting, and when staff members checked the room to see if they had left, they found Mercer’s body with a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Court records also show Zimmerman was arrested in Connecticut in 2022 on a felony sexual assault charge. He pleaded not guilty and was freed on a $200,000 bond, but a warrant was later issued for his rearrest.
Crime General News IL State Wire TX State Wire MS State Wire Shootings U.S. News N A Law Enforcement U.S. News
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Mississippi escaped inmate wanted for murder barricaded inside Chicago restaurant: US MarshalsAn escaped inmate from Mississippi is barricaded inside a restaurant on Chicago's Near West Side on Tuesday evening, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Read more »
Escaped Mississippi inmate barricaded inside Chicago restaurant, police sayAn escaped inmate from Mississippi is barricaded inside a restaurant in Chicago and engaged in a standoff with the U.S. Marshals Office, the DeSoto County…
Read more »
Inmate who escaped courthouse in Mississippi holds authorities in standoff in ChicagoInmate who escaped in Mississippi holds authorities in standoff in Chicago
Read more »
‘Armed and very dangerous' escaped Mississippi inmate remains barricaded inside Chicago restaurantThe restaurant is blocks away from the United Center, where day three of the Democratic National Convention is taking place in Chicago.
Read more »
Mississippi murder suspect barricaded in restaurant on Chicago's Near West Side, blocks from DNCA man who escaped from a Mississippi courthouse and is wanted on murder and armed robbery charges is in a standoff with police at a restaurant on the Near West Side, blocks from the Democratic National Convention.
Read more »
Houston murder suspect in standoff with Chicago police after escaping Mississippi courthouseThe 30-year-old suspect in the murder of a Houston woman was arrested in Mississippi on separate felony charges, but in June of this year, he reportedly escaped police custody while at a court hearing.
Read more »