Former Deputy Jailer Arrested in Connection to Escaped Inmate

A former Mississippi jailer was charged on Tuesday in connection with the escape of an inmate who engaged in a 15-hour standoff with Chicago police just blocks from the Democratic National Convention last week.
Ronnie Hunt, 32, who was employed as a deputy jailer at the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department, has been accused of facilitating the escape of Joshua Zimmerman, a fugitive with a history of violent crimes.
According to Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin on Tuesday, Hunt now faces charges for allegedly providing Zimmerman with tools that aided his escape and may face additional charges.
The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department said Hunt has since been fired from his job as a deputy jailer, CBS-affiliated WREG-TV reported. He was being held about an hour’s drive away in a jail in Lafayette County, Mississippi.
Newsweek reached out to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety via email on Tuesday for comment.
Hunt’s arrest followed the June 14 escape of Zimmerman from the DeSoto County Courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi. Zimmerman was awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder and armed robbery with additional murder charges pending in Houston.
Despite being heavily guarded, Zimmerman managed to evade law enforcement and fled to Chicago, where he was later apprehended following a tense standoff at a seafood restaurant near the United Center last week during the Democratic National Convention.
The U.S. Marshals Service, who led the manhunt, confirmed that Zimmerman was captured wearing street clothes rather than a jail uniform, a detail that has raised questions about the level of planning involved in his escape.
Surveillance footage from the courthouse shows Zimmerman dressed in khaki pants and a white shirt with no handcuffs, further fueling speculation about whether he received assistance from within the jail.
The escape of Zimmerman has brought renewed scrutiny to the security protocols at the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle II has publicly denied any claims that Zimmerman had inside help or access to extra clothing.
“The notion that he had help, that’s false. The notion that he had an extra set of clothes, that’s false. This is a career criminal. He knew what he was doing,” Tuggle told WREG-TV after Zimmerman’s escape.
Zimmerman is accused of fatally shooting Keyanna Mercer at a Houston motel in September 2023. The two were reportedly involved in a heated altercation that led to their ejection from the motel. Later, Mercer’s body was discovered with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
In addition, Zimmerman was previously arrested in Connecticut on a felony sexual assault charge in 2022 but was released on a $200,000 bond. A warrant for his re-arrest was issued after he failed to appear in court.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.