A 22-year-old man accused of donning a horror movie mask to chase and terrorize pedestrians in Center City Philadelphia has been arrested in Las Vegas, ending a multi-state law enforcement search.
Members of the U.S. Marshals Service Nevada Violent Offender Task Force arrested Zymire Hughes without incident around 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Hughes is currently held in the Clark County Detention Center awaiting extradition back to Pennsylvania.
The arrest follows an early morning series of encounters on Aug. 12 near 1500 John F. Kennedy Blvd. in Philadelphia. According to investigators, Hughes targeted at least six people while wearing a “distinctive Chucky doll Halloween-style face mask” referencing the “Child’s Play” film franchise.
During one encounter around 5:30 a.m., the masked suspect pursued a 40-year-old female jogger with his hand behind his back, held a cellphone to her face to film the interaction, and repeatedly asked, “Are you ready to die?”
“The offender made threatening comments as they approached causing the complainant to stumble and sustain injury,” Philadelphia police said in a statement. Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith noted that the victim ran away screaming for help and injured her leg during the pursuit.
Investigators said Hughes appeared to stage the harassment to create social media content “for his own purposes.” Surveillance cameras also recorded him harassing pedestrians near 15th and Chestnut streets, being denied service at a local Dunkin’ location, and entering SEPTA’s Suburban Station before briefly pulling down the mask and exposing his face.
“He’s a punk. I mean, that’s the bottom line,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said during the manhunt. “He’s a punk who scared a lot of people for no good reason, and we’re not going to tolerate it. You think it’s funny to scare people? Well, get ready to get scared by us, because we got the handcuffs. We got the jail cell.”
Authorities determined that Hughes, who was on probation for a separate matter, had been a Las Vegas resident since February. Investigators observed him leaving his Philadelphia apartment with packed bags on Aug. 18.
“He fled Philadelphia on Aug. 19 from Trenton Mercer Airport in Ewing, N.J., to Orlando International. He then flew from Orlando to Harry Reid International in Las Vegas,” U.S. Marshals Supervisory Deputy Robert Clark said at a press conference.
Clark stated that Hughes initially stayed with his girlfriend before moving to an apartment complex in southeast Las Vegas after seeing news broadcasts about the warrant on Aug. 20. Marshals placed the complex under surveillance and took Hughes into custody after five days in hiding.
Hughes faces charges in Philadelphia including terroristic threats, harassment, simple assault, and intimidation.
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