The man accused of harassing, chasing and threatening people while wearing a mask near Philadelphia’s City Hall will return to Pennsylvania within a month, a Las Vegas judge ordered Thursday.
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Zymire Hughes, 22, in Nevada on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
During a brief court appearance Thursday, Aug. 27, Hughes agreed to return to Pennsylvania to face charges. The judge overseeing the case ordered the Clark County Detention Center to release Hughes within 30 days. If officials from Pennsylvania do not transport Hughes within a month, the jail will release him.
Hughes attempted to hide his face with papers as he appeared shackled in court.
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Zymire Hughes appeared in court in Las Vegas on Thursday, Aug. 27.
On Aug. 12, a man police identified as Hughes was recorded on video terrorizing several people in Center City, according to Philadelphia police.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 26, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner described Hughes’ behavior as “rotten.”
Officials said Hughes, who was wearing a “Chucky doll Halloween-style facemask,” threatened a man who was crouching down with his hands up in a “pleading motion.” He was also captured on video chasing after a woman as she jogged, police said.
According to investigators, Hughes got in front of the woman while holding a phone and repeatedly asked her, “Are you ready to die?”
The woman ran away, screaming for help and injured her right hamstring and spine in the process, officials said.
In all, Hughes threatened or harassed more than 15 people in Center City that morning, according to investigators.
Hughes left Philadelphia on Aug. 19, and flew to Orlando from the airport in Trenton, New Jersey, officials said. From Orlando, Hughes flew to Las Vegas, according to investigators.
Investigators determined Hughes had been visiting family in Philadelphia for a few weeks, which is when he wore the mask and terrorized people, officials said.
According to documents the NBC10 Investigators obtained, marshals arrested Hughes on two active warrants, one for the August incidents and the other for a probation violation.
In August 2022, when Hughes was 18, he took a police sergeant’s badge and threw it down a sewer grate, officials said. The incident led to charges of criminal mischief, theft and disorderly conduct for fighting, according to court documents.
Hughes was then recommended for a diversion program for first-time nonviolent offenders that would have allowed him to avoid a conviction and jail time.
NBC10 was told he was removed from the program after getting into trouble with the law a second time just weeks before he was scheduled to begin.
Hughes is expected to face several charges, including aggravated assault, terroristic threats, simple assault and related offenses.