The 22-year-old man who allegedly donned a “Chucky”-style Halloween mask in an apparent attempt to scare people earlier this month in Center City was arrested Tuesday in Las Vegas, authorities said.
Zymire Hughes is behind bars in Nevada, waiting to be extradited to Philadelphia, according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which apprehended him at around 8 p.m. on Aug. 25.
Hughes is accused of running up to a jogger and twice asking her if she was “ready to die” just before 5:30 a.m. Aug. 12 in the area of Dilworth Park, police said. Investigators have said the masked suspect harassed at least five other individuals over a short period of time that morning before fleeing into an underground SEPTA concourse.
While the offender did not pull out a weapon or appear to touch anyone, he did place one of his hands behind his back, acting as if he had a gun or a knife, according to law enforcement officials. The jogger, a 40-year-old woman, injured her leg as she tried to run away, authorities said.
Police Captain Jason Smith, during an Aug. 17 news conference, said the male perpetrator was holding up his phone, a sign he may have been filming content for social media.
A day after the press briefing, police released surveillance footage and photographs depicting the incident, and the PPD stated in an Aug. 20 update that they had identified the suspect as Hughes.
The District Attorney’s Office stated Wednesday that Hughes is expected to be charged with aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, terroristic threats, simple assault, reckless endangerment and other offenses.
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