DeSoto inmate escaped through courthouse ‘design flaw,’ sheriff says
DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle said Joshua Zimmerman’s extensive criminal history equipped him to escape. (Rob Moore/The Daily Memphian file)
A DeSoto County inmate, facing felony charges across three states, escaped the Hernando courthouse last week through a fault in the building’s design, according to the sheriff’s department.
“This was a career criminal,” DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle II said during a press conference Wednesday, June 19. “He knew what he was doing, and he exploited — I guess you’d say — a soft spot in the courthouse, and he benefited from it.”
Tuggle declined to elaborate on the flaw but said it has been fixed and should not pose a similar problem in the future.
Joshua Zimmerman, 31, was in court Friday, June 14, for a hearing related to multiple felony charges in DeSoto County including attempted murder, armed robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Images released by the sheriff’s department appear to show Zimmerman walking out of a door of the courthouse unaccompanied.
Topics
DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle DeSoto County sheriff DeSoto County Joshua Zimmerman Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
Subscribers to The Daily Memphian help fund our not-for-profit newsroom of nearly 40 local journalists plus more than 20 freelancers, all of whom work around the clock to cover the issues impacting our community. Subscriptions - and donations - also help fund our community access programs which provide free access to K-12 schools, community organizations, and more. Thank you for making our work possible.
Rob Moore
Rob Moore covers North Mississippi for The Daily Memphian. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in English from The University of Memphis.
Suburbs - North Mississippi on demand
Sign up to receive Suburbs - North Mississippi stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.