CHICAGO — A man who escaped from a Mississippi courthouse and is wanted on murder and armed robbery charges is in a standoff with police at a Chicago restaurant blocks from the Democratic National Convention.
Justin Zimmerman has been wanted by the US Marshals Service since he escaped in June and was located Tuesday at the Chicago restaurant, according to Justin Smith, chief deputy with the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi.
The US Marshals Service said Zimmerman escaped from the courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi, where he was being held on charges of attempted murder and armed robbery.
He was also awaiting extradition to Houston, Texas, where he has been charged with murder, the Marshals Service said.
It was not immediately clear how authorities had tracked Zimmerman to Chicago and there was no indication of any connection to the Democratic National Convention.
But the restaurant he is believed to be trapped inside is about half a mile from the United Center in Chicago, where the convention is being held.
Smith told reporters Tuesday that Zimmerman was “barricaded inside the restaurant” and that authorities want to bring him back to Mississippi and “gather the remaining facts surrounding his escape.”