The US Marshals Service said Wednesday that they had caught Joshua Zimmerman, a Mississippi prisoner who had escaped two months ago and was hiding out in a Chicago restaurant where he had supposedly found work.
No other information was given right away about Zimmerman’s capture, like whether he was armed or if anyone was hurt.
The US Marshals Service said Zimmerman locked himself up at a seafood restaurant on Tuesday, just blocks away from where the Democratic National Convention was being held. He is wanted on multiple charges in at least three states.
The marshals service said in a statement Tuesday that Zimmerman, 30, “escaped June 14 from the Desoto County (Mississippi) Jail, where he was being held for armed robbery and attempted murder.” About 25 miles south of Memphis is DeSoto County, which is in the northwest of Mississippi.
The top deputy for the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, Justin Smith, said it’s not clear how or why Zimmerman got to Chicago or if he knew anyone there.
According to the Marshals Service, investigators from the USMS recently learned that Zimmerman was in Chicago and sent a secondary lead to the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force. They positively identified Zimmerman in a seafood restaurant in the 2300 block of Madison Street, where he is thought to have been working.
The USMS said, “During the arrest attempt, Zimmerman hid in the ceiling and blocked himself off.” The restaurant was “not connected to or dangerous to the event or the people attending,” even though it was “close to” the site of the Democratic National Convention.
CNN is working to find out if Zimmerman has hired a lawyer.
There were many claims and names used against Zimmerman. According to DeSoto County court records, he was arrested in Southaven, Mississippi, on September 29, 2023, on suspicion of robbery and attempted murder.
An arrest warrant filed September 5, 2023, says Zimmerman was charged with felony murder in Harris County, Texas, earlier that month for reportedly shooting and killing a woman at a Houston motel, but he was never caught.
Law enforcement is also looking for Zimmerman in Connecticut because he did not show up to a court meeting in December 2022 for a felony sexual assault charge.
As stated in his Harris County arrest order, Zimmerman has been known to use aliases and fake forms of ID. The court record says he stayed at the Houston motel using the name Vincent Guerino Juliano. The Texas order says Zimmerman has also been known to use the name Jamie Quintana.
A spokesman for the US Marshals Service, Brady McCarron, told CNN that Zimmerman was being held in Chicago on Wednesday.
In Mississippi, the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office said it hopes Zimmerman will be sent back to the United States.
