Mississippi murder suspect barricades himself in Chicago restaurant
A man suspected of murder in Mississippi barricaded himself in a restaurant on Chicago’s West Side on Tuesday afternoon. The SWAT team surrounded the Seafood Junction Fresh Market on the Near West Side overnight.
CHICAGO – A murder suspect who fled a Mississippi courthouse was arrested after an hours-long standoff with police at a restaurant on Chicago’s Near West Side, blocks from the Democratic National Convention.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Joshua Zimmerman was taken into custody Wednesday morning after barricading himself at the Seafood Junction on the corner of Madison and Western, about a half-mile from the United Center, where the convention is taking place.
On Thursday, the US Marshals Service announced that Zimmerman had been charged with fugitive from justice. He will appear in court on Thursday.
He has been wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service since his escape in June and was spotted at the restaurant on Tuesday, according to Justin Smith, chief deputy of the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Zimmerman fled the district court in Hernando, Mississippi, where he was being held on attempted murder and armed robbery charges. He is also awaiting extradition to Houston, Texas, where he faces murder charges, the Marshals Service said.
Murder suspect engages in hours-long standoff with Chicago police
Joshua Zimmerman fled a courthouse in Mississippi and made his way to Chicago, where he got into a confrontation with police and the SWAT team on Tuesday afternoon.
Zimmerman was believed to be working at the seafood restaurant, according to the Marshals Service. When local officials went to check the line at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Zimmerman hid in the ceiling and barricaded himself.
Smith said authorities wanted to return him to Mississippi and “gather the remaining facts about his escape.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
