DeSoto D.A. alleges ‘cover-up’, ‘conspiracy’ after inmate’s escape
DESOTO CO., Miss. — It’s been seven days since a DeSoto County inmate escaped and walked right out of the courthouse. As federal and local governments continue their manhunt, leaders can’t agree on how this happened.
Accused murderer Joshua Zimmerman is still on the run after fleeing the DeSoto County Courthouse last week. District Attorney Matthew Barton and Sherrif Thomas Tuggle have shared their account of how Zimmerman was able to walk out of the courthouse, but the leaders have two different stories.
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“He broke from the line (and) went through a door. Sometime later, he left the courthouse with no shackles and street clothes,” Barton said.
“Joshua Zimmerman did not change any clothes. That man walked out in underwear, a t-shirt, and shower shoes,” Tuggle said.
A photo taken minutes before his escape shows Zimmerman in a white shirt and pants. Barton says he saw a video of Zimmerman getting away, however, official video evidence is nowhere to be found.
He says co-conspirators directed the county IT department to go onto the server and delete the state’s evidence, calling it a “conspiracy” and “cover-up.”
“I will say it is a felony crime to tamper with evidence,” Barton said.
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However, Tuggle shuts down any claims this was an inside job.
“The notion that he had help, that’s false,” Tuggle said.
Barton is appointing a grand jury to investigate the courthouse and anyone associated with state evidence.
“When you talk about an ongoing investigation when the lives of your men are at stake, that’s reckless,” Tuggle said. “So, the DA or whoever, they can call us and talk about it.”
There is a $10,000 reward from the U.S. Marshal’s Service for Zimmerman’s arrest. They say he is believed to have shaved his beard since his escape.
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