A man alleged to have been seen in Philadelphia wearing a creepy, Chucky-style mask and harassing people there last week was arrested in Las Vegas, authorities in the desert city said Tuesday.
Zymire Hughes was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Offender Task Force, the service said in a statement.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said last week that the warrant is based on allegations of felony and misdemeanor assault after a masked man chased a jogger, asked, “Do you want to die?” and caused her to suffer injuries as she fled early last Wednesday in Center City.
He said that more charges were possible and that they would be outlined after the suspect was arrested.
Booking information from the Clark County Detention Center in Nevada shows Hughes in custody with no bail, with a hearing before a judge scheduled for Thursday morning.
It’s not clear whether he has legal counsel. Public defender’s offices in Clark County, Nevada, and Philadelphia did not immediately respond to requests for comment after regular business hours late Tuesday.
Police allege Hughes approached more than a dozen people in Center City before he fled after his interaction with the jogger. Police said he fled again after regional transit police in a train station contacted him and told him to remove his mask.
Authorities followed a trail via security cameras in the city that led to an apartment building where, they say, Hughes lives. Three people identified the masked suspect as Hughes, police said at a news conference last week.
The mask resembles the killer doll from the “Child’s Play” horror movie franchise. Police believe the masked man may have behaved in this manner before, and they asked any other possible victims to come forward.
A few days after the Center City incidents, Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith said, police were tipped off that the suspect was alleged to have packed his bags and left the apartment.
Krasner said Hughes is on probation for an unspecified crime in nearby Montgomery County.
Smith said the suspect has two TikTok accounts and one Instagram account. He wore the mask to draw people to his online presence, Krasner said.
“We’re not having it in this city,” Krasner said of the antics. “We are not tolerating it.”
