Man who escaped from Mississippi and is wanted for murder is apprehended after a Chicago standoff

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A man who escaped from a Mississippi courthouse and is wanted on murder and armed robbery charges was taken into custody Wednesday following a standoff with police at a restaurant in Chicago, blocks from the Democratic National Convention, authorities said.

Joshua Zimmerman was taken into custody Wednesday morning, said Abigail Meyer, a spokesperson with the U.S. Marshals Service.

Zimmerman had been sought by the U.S. Marshals Service since his escape in June and was located Tuesday at the restaurant in Chicago, according to Justin Smith, chief deputy with the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi.

The U.S. Marshals Service said Zimmerman escaped from the circuit court building in Hernando, Mississippi, where he was being held on attempted murder and armed robbery charges. He was also awaiting extradition to Houston, Texas, where he’s been charged with murder, the Marshals Service said.

The Chicago Police Department said, without using Zimmerman’s name, that a person was taken into custody about 7:20 a.m. and that the SWAT action that began about 4 p.m. Tuesday had ended.

It wasn’t 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 was believed to be holed up inside is located about a half-mile from the United Center in Chicago, where the convention is being held.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Smith said that Zimmerman was “barricaded inside that restaurant” and that authorities want to bring him back to Mississippi and “gather the remaining facts surrounding his escape."

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The story has been updated to correct the wanted man’s first name to Joshua, from Justin.