Homicide suspect under guard escapes Mississippi hospital, steals clothes
PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Mississippi officials are looking for a man who escaped from a hospital bathroom while under police guard and then was recorded on video changing into pilfered clothes.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Department tells local news outlets that Aceon Ja’shun Hopkins got away after telling a deputy he had to go to the bathroom while a patient at Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula.
The 20-year-old Hopkins had been a patient there since he was shot multiple times in Moss Point in November. Police in Meridian were seeking Hopkins to question him regarding two killings in the eastern Mississippi city. Hopkins hasn't been charged in connection with the slayings. WTOK-TV reported Hopkins and his brother were charged with shooting up a Meridian shopping center in February. It’s unclear if either was arrested.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department says Hopkins has warrants for other criminal charges, though, including drug charges in Gulfport.
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said his office is investigating how Hopkins escaped the deputy guarding him.
Surveillance video from a nearby hotel shows Hopkins hobbling along a walkway, which Ezell said is because Hopkins was shackled. Video also shows Hopkins changing out of his hospital gown into a black hoodie with a blanket around his waist. The sheriff said Hopkins grabbed the clothes from an unlocked car in the hotel parking lot.
Hopkins is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. If anyone sees him, please contact Jackson County Sheriff’s Department at 228-769-3063.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Homicide suspect under guard escapes Mississippi hospital
