MEMPHIS, Tenn — The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) said Monday one person had been arrested in connection with the escape of inmate Joshua Zimmerman from a DeSoto County courthouse. This comes just days after the MBI and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch opened an investigation into the escape.
The MBI said Ronnie Hunt was charged with escape of prisoners and conveying articles useful for the escape of prisoners. They said more charges are probable. A spokesperson with the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office told ABC24 Hunt was a deputy jailer, and he had been fired.
"Due to this being an ongoing investigation, no further comment will be made at this time," said a statement from the MBI.
Zimmerman is back in custody after being captured in Chicago Aug. 21, 2024. The DeSoto County Sheriff's Office said U.S. Marshals found Zimmerman at a restaurant the day before, and he barricaded himself inside. He was taken into custody the next morning.
In a statement issued Aug. 23, the Mississippi A.G.’s Office said an investigation was underway into the original escape.
The escape
The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office said Zimmerman had been arrested by Southaven Police and charged with several felonies, including attempted murder. He was also awaiting extradition to Houston, Texas, where he’s been charged with murder, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
He was being held at the DeSoto County Adult Detention Center ahead of his morning hearing on Friday, June 14, then taken to court in Hernando, where he escaped. He was being held originally on a total of $1,075,000 bond, according to jail records.
DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle said during a press conference on June 19 that moments after Zimmerman removed his handcuffs and escaped custody inside the courthouse, he ran to a nearby gas station asking for a ride and was able to convince one man to drive him to Memphis.
D.A. investigation
On June 20, DeSoto County District Attorney Barton announced his office would open an investigation into how Zimmerman escaped from custody, and why video of his escape was deleted from the servers, according to Barton.
"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 co-conspirators 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 would give 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 the state’s evidence from his server, but the grand jury investigation would let the people decide.
