MEMPHIS, Tenn — DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton announced that his office would be opening an investigation into how murder suspect Joshua Zimmerman escaped from custody, and why video of his escape was deleted from his servers.
"I'm not sure how things worked with the good old boys before I showed up, but in the DeSoto County I want for my family, we're going to have transparency," Barton said during a Thursday news conference.
The sheriff’s office said Joshua James Zimmerman was arrested by Southaven Police and charged with several felonies, including attempted murder. He was being held at the DeSoto County Adult Detention Center ahead of his morning hearing on Friday, June 14, when he reportedly escaped.
Tuggle said during a Wednesday, June 19, press conference that moments after Zimmerman escaped custody inside the DeSoto county courthouse after removing his handcuffs, he ran to a nearby gas station asking for a ride and was able to convince one man to drive him to Memphis just minutes after he escaped.
U.S. Marshals and the DeSoto County District Attorney's Office are offering a $10,000 reward.
According to the DeSoto County Jail records, Zimmerman is charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, taking a motor vehicle, disorderly conduct, receiving stolen property, and fugitive from justice. He was being held originally on a total of $1,075,000 bond, according to jail records.
"My investigators ... obtained video footage of what happened ... it did not take long for us to uncover a conspiracy to cover-up and suppress certain evidence regarding the escape of Joshua Zimmerman," Barton said. "Some coconspirators from an outside entity, not the State of Mississippi, directed the county IT to go onto my server and delete state's evidence."
Barton said that he will be giving the case to a grand jury to assess and inspect with regards to the escape and then issue a finding.
Barton would not identify any organization by name that he said took state's evidence from his server, but the grand jury investigation would let the people decide.