More details are emerging about how a DeSoto County inmate escaped police custody.
Sheriff Thomas Tuggle held a press conference on Wednesday to expound on the events that led up to Joshua Zimmerman evading law enforcement ahead of a scheduled court appearance on Friday morning.
Zimmerman is charged with multiple felonies, including attempted murder, out of Southaven. He also faces charges in Houston, Texas where he was allegedly involved in the shooting death of a woman.
Tuggle said that the inmate, considered a fugitive on the run, found a way to escape by exploiting a flaw in the courthouse’s design, per a report from WREG. A temporary lockdown was placed citywide following Zimmerman’s departure, but he was steps ahead of authorities.
(Photo courtesy of the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office)
According to the sheriff, Zimmerman walked across the street and asked a stranger en route to Memphis, Tenn. to give him a ride. The inmate, still in his pajamas and shower shoes, told the driver that he had just been in an altercation with his wife and needed to get out of town.
U.S. Marshals are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Zimmerman’s arrest. The fugitive is considered to be armed and dangerous and is suspected to have shaved his beard after skipping town. Anyone who comes in contact with him is urged to contact law enforcement immediately.
Tuggle vows that Zimmerman will be captured by law enforcement, though a general description of his potential whereabouts has not been made available to the public.
