Jail escapee captured in restaurant blocks from DNC

Authorities captured escaped Mississippi inmate Joshua Zimmerman around 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday morning in Chicago, the U.S. Marshals Service told WORLD. The 30-year-old fugitive also faces murder charges in Texas. Authorities located him at a seafood restaurant blocks away from the Democratic National Convention, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service said. Zimmerman barricaded himself in the restaurant’s ceiling after a failed arrest attempt on Tuesday night, according to a spokesman for the service. No civilians were in the restaurant with Zimmerman and the Chicago Police Department SWAT Team took over the scene, according to a statement by the U.S. Marshals Service. There’s no word on how authorities captured Zimmerman.

Was Zimmerman going to the DNC? Marshals believed that Zimmerman worked at the seafood restaurant where he was captured. There is no connection or threat to the DNC, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

Why was Zimmerman originally jailed? Zimmerman escaped from Desoto County jail in Mississippi about two months ago where he faced charges of armed robbery and attempted murder, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Texas authorities have also sought Zimmerman on alleged murder charges from September 2023.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report on the latest happenings at the DNC.