Man in Halloween mask accused of menacing people near City Hall arrested in Las Vegas
Images went viral of someone wearing a horror-movie style mask and scaring people around City Hall earlier this month.
A 22-year-old man accused of menacing pedestrians near City Hall while wearing a Halloween mask earlier this month was arrested in Las Vegas, the U.S. Marshals Service said Tuesday night.
Zymire Hughes was being held at the Clark County Detention Center awaiting extradition proceedings, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Hughes gained national attention when viral images circulated online showing him allegedly wearing a mask resembling a cracked porcelain doll with a baby face. Masks advertised for Halloween that look very similar to what Hughes allegedly wore are available for sale on both Amazon and eBay.
On the morning of Aug. 12, a man in the mask — which some also have described as resembling Chucky from the movie Child’s Play — harassed and scared more than a dozen people near City Hall, authorities said, including a 40-year-old woman who was injured when she fell while running from the masked man.
Hughes allegedly harassed around 16 people during a half-hour period that morning, authorities said.
At one point, he allegedly harassed a woman who was jogging and asked her if she was “ready to die,” police said.
Hughes eventually rode a bus to his apartment near 23rd and Venango Streets, authorities said. He later left his apartment with packed bags, and police suspected he was heading to Los Angeles or Las Vegas, where he is believed to have connections through an employer.
Investigators did not believe he intended to physically harm those he harassed, given that he did not produce a weapon during any of the interactions, authorities said.
