DeSoto DA: Video of inmate's escape illegally deleted; grand jury to investigate

Video evidence of an inmate's escape from custody was illegally deleted from DeSoto County District Attorney's Office servers as part of a "conspiracy," according to District Attorney Matthew Barton.

The video reportedly showed evidence of Joshua Zimmerman's escape from the DeSoto County courthouse in Hernando on Friday, June 14. Zimmerman remains at large.

Barton said the case — including Zimmerman's escape and the alleged evidence tampering — has been turned over to a grand jury for further investigation.

Here's what we know so far.

How did an inmate escape from the DeSoto County courthouse?

Zimmerman was due for a court hearing on June 14 for an attempted murder charge, among multiple additional felony charges. According to information released Wednesday by DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle II, Zimmerman — wearing nothing but "a pair of underwear, a T-shirt, and some shower shoes" — walked out of the courthouse and into an alley, apparently unnoticed. Tuggle said officers were in pursuit within about 10 minutes.

"He exploited a flaw in the building design, and escaped from the courthouse," Tuggle said. Details on the flaw were not released, though the sheriff said it has already been fixed.

Tuggle refutes that Zimmerman had any pre-planned outside help — instead, he got a ride to Memphis through the acts of a "good Samaritan." Zimmerman reportedly claimed that he had a fight with his wife and needed a ride. The driver then took him to Memphis.

"This guy has no connections in this community," Tuggle said. "He found an individual that was back behind one of the gas stations. He's a charismatic guy."

Tuggle did not say whether Zimmerman was wearing handcuffs or shackles when he escaped, but alluded to the possibility of him escaping from those restraints. "I know for a fact that these inmates spend countless hours trying to defeat the handcuff system."

Authorities have not said if they still believe Zimmerman to be in Memphis.

Why were details about inmate's escape released almost a week later?

Tuggle said during his Wednesday press conference that withholding some information during an investigation into violent criminals is critical to keeping both the public and officers safe. He described it as "reckless" to talk about the case in detail with the media.

"There's a reason why we withheld a lot of information while this was going on," Tuggle said. "When we're doing an investigation... we have guys who are out there in the streets, establishing connections, dealing with the most hardened criminals in this area. And anytime someone went on TV and talked about this case, I said a prayer, because they were endangering the lives of our guys that were embedded out there in the community."

Barton criticized that lack of information during his press conference Thursday.

"As much as it's going to rock the boat and upset a few people, the fact is, DeSoto County does not belong to the good ol' boys anymore," Barton said. "It belongs to you."

What happened to video evidence of the inmate's escape?

Barton held a press conference Thursday, in which he said video surveillance from within the courthouse that captured Zimmerman's escape was deleted from his office's servers Wednesday, the same day it was acquired. Barton was sure to note that the video was obtained through "lawful, traditional and appropriate manners."

"An outside entity, not the state of Mississippi, local entities, directed the county IT to go onto my server and delete state's evidence," Barton said. He described the situation as a "conspiracy to cover-up and suppress certain evidence regarding the escape."

The district attorney also said he confronted the people responsible but declined to reveal their names.

"It was confirmed, I know which entities did it, and it was admitted to," Barton said. "I can't speak for what their motives were."

What to do if you spot escaped inmate Joshua Zimmerman

If you see Zimmerman, call 911 immediately and do not approach him. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact their local law enforcement agency.

Jacob Wilt is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at jacob.wilt@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: DeSoto County inmate escape: DA says video evidence illegally deleted