Terrifying chucky-masked man chases female runner in early-morning Philadelphia attack
Chucky-masked sicko who terrorized Philadelphia citizens is captured in Vegas after 2-week manhunt
The Chucky mask-wearing sicko who is accused of terrorizing Philadelphia citizens, including a female jogger, was captured in Las Vegas following a two-week-long manhunt.
Zymire Hughes, 22, was found hiding out in an apartment complex in the southeast section of Sin City around 8 p.m. on Tuesday by members of the US Marshals Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force, officials announced.
Hughes was arrested on an out-of-state warrant for the alleged aggravated assault of a 40-year-old woman on Aug. 12, officials announced.
“Tonight the fear that one man brought to the Philadelphia community comes to an end,” US Marshals Service Supervisory Deputy Robert Clark told reporters, according to NBC Philadelphia.
“By hiding behind a Chucky-style Halloween mask, Hughes terrorized Philadelphia residents and believed he could evade law enforcement. He was wrong,” Clark said.
Hughes is being held at the Clark County Detention Center, where he will remain before being extradited to Pennsylvania.
A nationwide search was launched for the menacing fugitive who disguised himself as the infamous movie villain and threatened at least six people in the span of 15 minutes near Philadelphia City Hall on Aug. 12.
Hughes first walked into a Dunkin shop at around 5:20 a.m. where a worker refused him service because he was acting “erratic.”
The masked threat was then caught on surveillance video chasing after a 40-year-old female jogger while making threatening remarks with his hands hidden behind his back.
“Are you ready to die?” Hughes allegedly asked the unidentified woman while filming his sick intimidation.
The woman sustained an injury after tumbling to the ground trying to evade Hughes, police said.
Officials identified the masked perp as Hughes before obtaining an arrest warrant for aggravated assault.
Hughes, who had moved into a Vegas apartment with his girlfriend back in February, was on the East Coast visiting relatives when he plagued Philadelphia with his nuisance.
After police launched a search for the masked hoodlum, Hughes fled the city on Aug. 19.
Officials had feared Hughes had fled Philadelphia for either California or Nevada, where he had ties in both cities.
He chose a complicated route home, jumping on a plane from Trenton, NJ, to Orlando, Fla., before boarding another flight out to Las Vegas.
Upon his return to Sin City, Hughes shacked up away from his own apartment, choosing one in the southeast part of the city after he was featured on the news.
The connection he had with the second apartment was not known, but federal agents managed to track him to the residence where Hughes was hiding out for five days.
“Marshals established surveillance in the suspected complex today and at 8 p.m., Hughes was arrested without incident,” Clark said.
The suspect attempted to escape his arrest, but US Marshals thwarted the ill-conceived attempt.
“He was not a happy man being brought into custody,” Clark said.
Hughes faces charges for aggravated assault, terroristic threats, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person and “other related offenses.
“We take it very seriously any time someone thinks it is funny or entertaining to terrorize and harass individuals in any neighborhood,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Friday. “Regardless of his motive, his actions demonstrate that he is a punk and will not be tolerated. He will be caught and held accountable for his crimes.”