Inmate who escaped courthouse in Mississippi holds authorities in standoff in Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A criminal suspect who escaped during a court hearing in Mississippi in June was found in Chicago Wednesday and was in a standoff with police in a West Side restaurant.
CBS affiliate WREG-TV in Memphis reported that back on June 14, Joshua Zimmerman escaped from the DeSoto County Courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi. Authorities said Zimmerman changed from a jumpsuit into civilian clothing, and left through a door where no officers were around, the station reported.
Zimmerman had been charged with attempted murder and armed robbery in an incident in Southaven, Mississippi in September of last year. WREG reported Zimmerman was accused of attacking an elderly man who had hired him to work at his house.
DeSoto County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Justin Smith said Tuesday night that multiple law enforcement agencies have been searching for Smith ever since he escaped during his court hearing.
On Tuesday night, the U.S. Marshal's office found Zimmerman at Seafood Junction, at 2325 W. Madison St. just east of Western Avenue. The restaurant is located only about half a mile west of the United Center, where the Democratic National Convention was in its second night Tuesday.
At a news conference, Smith said Zimmerman was barricaded by himself in the restaurant and was in a standoff with a SWAT team.
Further information was not immediately available.
WREG reported Zimmerman also faces charges of involvement in a shooting that left a woman dead in a motel in Houston in September of last year.
