Escaped Mississippi inmate taken into custody in Chicago after barricading inside restaurant near DNC site
CHICAGO (CBS) — A suspect who escaped during a court hearing in Mississippi in June was found in Chicago and taken into custody after a standoff with police in a West Side restaurant, authorities said.
CBS affiliate WREG-TV in Memphis reported that Joshua Zimmerman escaped from the DeSoto County Courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi on June 14. Authorities said he 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.
Zimmerman was taken into custody on Wednesday morning.
DeSoto County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Justin Smith said Tuesday night that multiple law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, have been searching for Smith since he fled.
Smith said Zimmerman was found 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.
According to the U.S. Marshal, during the arrest attempt, Zimmerman "retreated into the ceiling and barricaded himself."
When he escaped, Zimmerman was also awaiting extradition to Houston, where he's charged with murder, the Marshals Service said, according to The Associated Press.
WREG reported that charge stems from his alleged involvement in a shooting that left a woman dead in a Houston motel last September.
