9AM UPDATE : The US Marshals Office has confirmed that escaped Mississippi inmate Joshua Zimmerman has been taken into custody.

7AM UPDATE: An escaped Mississippi inmate remains barricaded inside a Chicago restaurant Wednesday morning as a standoff between the man and the U.S. Marshals Office continues into its 14th hour.

As of 6 a.m., Joshua Zimmerman remains barricaded alone inside a seafood restaurant in the 2300 block of W. Madison, officials said. The scene remains active, with a large police presence, according to Chicago news reports.

ORIGINAL STORY

An inmate who escaped from Mississippi custody in June barricaded himself inside a Chicago restaurant and was in a standoff with US Marshals Tuesday evening.

Joshua Zimmerman, who escaped from the DeSoto County courthouse and has been on the run for more than two months, was reported to be surrounded by U.S. Marshals in Chicago. The situation was ongoing as of late Tuesday night.

DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle confirmed that Zimmerman exploited a flaw in the courthouse’s design to flee while facing an attempted murder charge. He allegedly attacked an elderly Southaven man who had hired him for work. After escaping, Zimmerman crossed the street and hitchhiked to Memphis, claiming to a stranger that he needed to leave town following a fight with his wife.

DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton has suggested that Zimmerman may have had inside help, as surveillance footage of the escape was mysteriously wiped from the courthouse server. A $10,000 reward was offered by both the DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Marshals for information leading to Zimmerman’s capture. The pursuit also involved famed bounty hunter Duane Chapman, known as “Dog the Bounty Hunter.”