Chucky-mask terror suspect from Philadelphia nabbed in Las Vegas

Zymire Hughes, 22, was arrested in Las Vegas after allegedly threatening six people near Philadelphia City Hall while wearing a Chucky-style mask.

Philadelphia Chucky-mask suspect caught in Las Vegas after cross-country flight

A 22-year-old man accused of chasing and threatening at least six people near Philadelphia City Hall while wearing a Chucky-style Halloween mask has been arrested in Las Vegas, Google News MT — Crime (en) reports, citing U.S. Marshals Service officials.

Zymire Hughes was taken into custody around 8 p.m. Tuesday at an apartment complex in southeast Las Vegas. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center pending extradition to Philadelphia.

The incidents took place over roughly 15 minutes beginning at approximately 5:18 a.m. on 12 August, when Hughes allegedly approached multiple people at the intersection of 15th and Chestnut streets in Center City, attempting to frighten and antagonise them.

Shortly after, Hughes entered a Dunkin' on the 1500 block of Chestnut Street, where he was refused service for wearing the mask. Surveillance footage later showed him running toward people at the southwest corner of Penn Square near City Hall at around 5:25 a.m.

Hughes then allegedly chased a man on the west side of 15th Street before confronting a woman jogging at 15th and Market streets. He stopped directly in front of her and asked, "Are you ready to die?" The woman fled the scene and sustained a leg injury in the process. Hughes subsequently retreated to Suburban Station.

Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith had previously noted that Hughes appeared to be filming the encounters using a cellphone with its light switched on.

Hughes fled Philadelphia on 19 August, departing from Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing, New Jersey, and flying first to Orlando, Florida, before taking a connecting flight to Las Vegas. U.S. Marshals said Hughes has been a Las Vegas resident since February but has family in Philadelphia and is believed to have been in the city for several weeks prior to the incidents.

Robert Clark, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force, said Hughes had counted on the mask to shield his identity. "By hiding behind a Chucky-style Halloween mask, Hughes terrorized Philadelphia residents and believed he could evade law enforcement. He was wrong," Clark 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. Marshal Service."

Hughes has been charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and related offences.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)