An escaped murder suspect is in custody after U.S. Marshals apprehended him during an intense standoff on Wednesday morning in a Chicago restaurant.
Joshua Zimmerman, who had escaped from DeSoto County in Mississippi on June 14, had been on the run for over a month, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Services (USMS) obtained by the Daily Caller. He was being held on suspicion of armed robbery and attempted murder and was also wanted in Texas as a suspect in a 2023 murder.
Law enforcement agents located Zimmerman at a seafood restaurant where they believe he was employed, the statement reads. The establishment is located near the United Canter, where the Democratic National Convention is taking place. As law enforcement attempted to arrest the suspect, he “retreated into the ceiling and barricaded himself,” the statement alleges.
The Chicago Police Department SWAT Team was called in and took over the scene, according to the USMS. The suspect has since been taken into custody.
Zimmerman managed to escape custody in June during a courthouse hearing by exiting the building, walking to a nearby gas station and convincing a motorist to drive him to Memphis, a DeSoto Sheriff’s Office (DSO) press release read, NBC Chicago reported. (RELATED: ‘Armed And Dangerous’: Two Teenage Inmates Knock Out Georgia Deputy, Escape Custody)
The USMS and DSO had originally issued a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, according to a wanted poster. It was raised to $20,000, according to a WREG Channel 3 video report.
A similar escape occurred in April 2023 when a suspect managed to break out of a Mississippi prison. He was being held on suspicion of murdering a pastor, authorities said. Law enforcement found a man they believed to be the suspect and closed off a residence where the suspect allegedly exchanged fire with police, WAPT reported. The suspect later died after setting the residence on fire, where he may have been struck by police gunfire, Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones told the outlet.
