Joshua Zimmerman, wanted for murder in Texas, escaped from a courthouse in Mississippi, authorities said. (Photos from the U.S. Marshals Service)
A prosecutor in Mississippi said surveillance video of an accused murder suspect’s escape from a courthouse was deleted from a server in his office in a conspiracy and cover-up.
Joshua Zimmerman, 31, escaped on June 14 from the County courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi, officials said. He faces charges in that county of disorderly conduct, failure to obey, taking away a motor vehicle, attempt to commit murder, robbery with an armed weapon, possession of a weapon by a felon, and receiving stolen property, online jail records show.
He is also wanted in Harris County, Texas, for murder in the 2023 death of Keyanna Mercer, 23, in Houston.
DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton said in a news conference that “some co-conspirators” from an “outside entity” called his office’s IT department on Friday and directed they delete video that captured every angle of the courthouse of the escape.
“It did not take long for us to uncover a conspiracy to cover up and suppress certain evidence regarding the escape of Joshua Zimmerman,” he said, adding a grand jury will investigate county court facilities to assess and inspect the conditions regarding the safekeeping of inmates.
He did not reveal who he believed was responsible for the server deletion.
“I confronted the people that did it,” he said. “It was confirmed. I know which entities did it, and it was admitted to … I can’t speak for what their motives were. All I know is there’s evidence of a crime that I needed as part of my investigation to find out why a known murderer is walking through the same walkways as my staff and all the people that were in public that day.”
BREAKING: Desoto County D.A. Matthew Barton says video evidence of Joshua Zimmerman’s escape from the courthouse was stolen from their server.
He says a grand jury will be given this case and investigate the conditions and safety of the county courthouse.@WMCActionNews5 pic.twitter.com/sRo8ID5PF7
— Griffin S. DeMarrais (@GDeMarraisTV) June 20, 2024
Mercer was killed on Sept. 2. Houston patrol officers responded to a report of a dead woman at a motel at 6868 Hornwood Drive at about 8:45 p.m., police said in a news release.
Once there, officers found her dead from at least one gunshot wound. The room was rented to Zimmerman and Mercer, authorities said. Witnesses said they heard screaming coming from the room before hearing a gunshot, and Zimmerman was seen leaving the area. Days later, he was charged in the shooting and was arrested on Sept. 29 by the Southaven Police Department in Mississippi on separate charges.
Last Friday, he managed to walk up a flight of stairs into an unsecured room and walked out of the courthouse in a “khaki doo rag, khaki pants, white t-shirt, and jail issued flip flops with socks,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle II said in a news conference that Zimmerman walked across the street and convinced an unwitting driver to give him a ride.
“He’s a charismatic guy,” Tuggle said. “He asked this guy and said, ‘Hey, I just got in a fight with my wife. Can you give me a ride to Walmart?”
When the man told him he was going to Memphis, Zimmerman, who has ties there, said, “Even better.”
“Everything lined up for Zimmerman. But I promise you we’re going to find him,” the sheriff said.
The U.S. Marshals are hunting for the 5-foot-11, 210-pound man, who is believed to have shaved his beard since the escape, the agency said in a news release. He also has ties to Waterbury, Connecticut.
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