HERNANDO, Miss.–The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Dept. won’t say how, but they say they have fixed the security issue that allowed Joshua Zimmerman to escape the DeSoto County courthouse June 14. The department is being quiet while the investigation into the escape by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the state Attorney General’s office continues.
“The weaknesses that were exposed from Zimmerman’s escape have been rectified, and we have implemented additional security measures that we will not disclose to the public for obvious safety reasons<‘ read a statement released Wednesday.
Meanwhile, you also likely won’t hear anything publicly about how ex-jailer Ronnie Hunt may have helped Zimmerman in his successful quest to leave Mississippi, which came to an end last week in Chicago. Hunt was arrested and fired over the weekend.
“We can’t speak on any matters concerning Ronnie Hunt or the escape. The investigation and its results are in the jurisdiction and control of MBI/AG Fitch,” read the same statement.
Sheriff Thomas Tuggle said in a June press conference that he believed Zimmerman did not have help and blamed the escape on a weakness in courthouse security. Zimmerman, meanwhile, faces attempted murder charges in Mississippi, a murder charge is Texas and is due in court in Chicago in September for the charges related to the stand-off after which he was captured.
