Murder Suspect Escaped Custody While in Street Clothes — and Police Believe Ex-Jailer Helped Him

An ex-jailer has been arrested in connection with a Mississippi inmate’s courthouse escape. That inmate was recaptured last week in Chicago, following a 15-hour standoff that took place blocks away from the Democratic National Convention.

Ronnie Hunt is charged with aiding in the escape of a prisoner and conveying articles useful for the escape, Bailey C. Martin of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety confirms to PEOPLE, adding that “additional charges are probable.”

The escapee, Joshua Zimmerman, fled the DeSoto County Courthouse in Hernando, Miss. June 14, dressed in khakis and a white shirt, the Associated Press reports, citing security footage. He was not handcuffed. 

Prior to his escape, Zimmerman faced serious charges in Mississippi, Texas and Connecticut, per the AP, which reports that on the day of his escape, he had a scheduled court appearance on charges of attempted murder and armed robbery.

He is additionally charged with the murder of Keyanna Mercer in a Houston motel on Sept. 2, 2023, per the AP. Motel staff found the victim fatally shot in the head, following multiple complaints that the suspect and woman had been fighting.

Zimmerman is slated for extradition to Texas to face those charges, per the AP.

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A warrant had also been issued for his rearrest in a felony sexual assault case out of Connecticut in 2022, per the AP. (Prior to that warrant, he had pleaded not guilty to the charge and had been freed on a $200,000 bond.)

Zimmerman was re-arrested by authorities Aug. 21 at a seafood restaurant in Chicago, where investigators believe he had found a job, per the AP.

Referencing the Democratic National Convention, which was taking place during the time Zimmerman was arrested, the Marshals Service confirmed to the AP that there was “no connection or threat to the event or those attending.”

It was not immediately clear where Zimmerman is being detained or if he had retained a lawyer, but the AP previously reported that Mississippi authorities hoped to have him returned to the state.

Hunt is being held in Lafayette County Detention Center in Oxford, Miss., Bailey confirms to PEOPLE.

Bailey – who said the investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the state’s Attorney General’s Office is ongoing – declined further comment and did not respond to some of the questions posed by PEOPLE, including if Hunt had retained a lawyer and when he was next due in court. 

The AP reports that since the June escape, Hunt, 32, was fired as a deputy jailer from the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department.  

PEOPLE reached out to the sheriff’s department to confirm his years of employment and asked about any past record of problematic behavior, but the sheriff’s department did not respond in time for publication.

In an Aug. 28 statement reported by the AP, the sheriff’s department acknowledged that Zimmerman’s escape “exposed” their security “weaknesses,” which the department said had since been “rectified.”

“We have implemented additional security measures that we will not disclose to the public for obvious safety reasons,” the department said in the statement.