PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Federal authorities said they captured the man accused of terrorizing Philadelphians near City Hall in a creepy, doll-like mask.
U.S. marshals arrested 22-year-old Zymire Hughes on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Philly police issued an arrest warrant for Hughes last week for aggravated assault, simple assault and terroristic threats, in connection with the acts of harassment on Aug. 12. According to investigators, a man in a Chucky-style Halloween mask threatened more than a dozen people between 5 and 6 a.m.
In one case, he allegedly chased a jogger. Authorities said she hurt her leg trying to get away from him after he asked if she was “ready to die.” Police have speculated the suspect filmed the encounters to post on social media.
Investigators said Hughes has been a Las Vegas resident since February. He was in Philadelphia visiting family earlier this month, during which police said he ran around City Hall in the mask and terrorized more than a dozen people.
Authorities said he fled Philadelphia on Aug. 19, flying from Trenton to Orlando and then to Vegas. He was staying with his girlfriend, but once police released his name and picture, he went into hiding at a southeast Las Vegas apartment complex. That’s where the marshals arrested him without incident — though at one point, he tried to get out of his handcuffs, police said.
“His arrest should send a clear message: You can hide your face, but you can’t hide from the elite investigators of the U.S. Marshals Service,” said Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark.
Hughes is being held at a detention facility in Nevada while he awaits extradition back to Philadelphia, where he will face charges of assault and terroristic threats.
