(AP) HERNANDO, Miss A man who escaped from a county jail in Mississippi and was arrested in August during a 15-hour police standoff at a restaurant a few blocks from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago is being sent back to Mississippi.
Bailey Martin, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Joshua Zimmerman is being extradited. She would not specify when he would be relocated, and it was not immediately apparent if Zimmerman had legal representation.
Martin stated that no other comments will be made at this time because the inquiry is still open and ongoing.
A few steps from Chicago’s United Center, the site of the Democratic National Convention, Zimmerman was detained on August 21 at a seafood restaurant. According to the Marshals Service, there was no threat or connection to the event or its attendees. Investigators stated that they thought Zimmerman was employed at the eatery.
On June 14, Zimmerman escaped from the DeSoto County Courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi, without handcuffs and in street clothes.
Zimmerman was scheduled to appear in court on attempted murder and armed robbery charges from Mississippi at the time of the escape. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, he was also awaiting extradition to Texas, where he faces murder charges.
Zimmerman is charged with killing Keyanna Mercer at a Houston motel on September 2, 2023, according to Harris County, Texas, court documents. After several accusations of fighting, the two were ordered to leave the motel. When staff members went to check on them, they discovered Mercer’s body with a gunshot wound to the head, according to the police.
Additionally, according to court documents, Zimmerman was arrested for criminal sexual assault in Connecticut in 2022. A warrant for his re-arrest was later issued after he entered a not guilty plea and was released on a $200,000 bond.
The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department in north Mississippi announced enhanced security protocols a few days following Zimmerman’s arrest in Chicago. A former deputy jailer who was accused of transporting items that could aid a prisoner’s escape was dismissed from his position.
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