Suspect Who Holed Up in Restaurant's Ceiling Is Captured

UPDATE Aug 21, 2024 9:25 AM CDT

After almost 70 days on the run, authorities say a murder suspect is back in custody. Joshua Zimmerman, who escaped from the DeSoto County Courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi, on June 14, had been tracked to a seafood restaurant in Chicago. The New York Times cites a statement from the US Marshals Service that said Zimmerman had been employed by the restaurant, and that when they tried to arrest him on Tuesday he climbed into the ceiling and barricaded himself. He was captured this morning, though CNN notes no details on that have yet been provided by law enforcement, including whether Zimmerman was armed or injured.

Aug 21, 2024 6:50 AM CDT

A 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 in Chicago, blocks from the Democratic National Convention. As the AP reports, Joshua Zimmerman has been sought by the US Marshals Service since his escape in June and was located Tuesday at the restaurant in Chicago, according to Justin Smith, chief deputy with the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi.

The standoff was ongoing early Wednesday, police said. The US Marshals Service said Zimmerman escaped from the circuit court building in Hernando, Mississippi, where he was being held on attempted murder and armed robbery charges. He was also awaiting extradition to Houston, Texas, where he's been charged with murder, the Marshals Service said.

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It wasn't immediately clear how authorities tracked Zimmerman to Chicago and there was no indication of any connection to the Democratic National Convention. But the restaurant he's believed to be holed up inside is located about a half-mile from the United Center in Chicago, where the convention is being held. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Smith said that Zimmerman was "barricaded inside that restaurant" and that authorities want to bring him back to Mississippi and "gather the remaining facts surrounding his escape." (More escaped criminal stories.)