Oct 3, 2009 8:29 am US/Eastern
Prosecutors: NYC Court Escapee Had Disguises, $4K
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Robbery suspect Ronald Tackman, 55, escaped a Manhattan court on Sept. 30, 2009, by posing as a lawyer.
CBS
Prosecutors said a stickup suspect who escaped from a Manhattan courthouse had a fake passport, wigs, phony beards, $4,000 and four gun-shaped cigarette lighters on him when he was captured.
Ronald Tackman was being held without bail after his arraignment Friday on an escape charge. He was locked up at the 33rd Precinct after he was taken back into
police custody in Washington Heights. The 55-year-old left court officials red-faced with his great
escape.
He didn't enter a plea.
Tackman had a court date Wednesday on robbery charges. A court officer apparently mistook the well-dressed defendant for a lawyer and let him out of a locked area.
Police arrested the ex-convict coming off a Manhattan bus Thursday, his 56th birthday.The run from the law wasn't some elaborate plan, either. Nor was it
concocted over a period of time. This was just a guy who walked out of
a courthouse. Tackman was brought into court Wednesday morning, but
wasn't handcuffed. When he got out of lockup he was confronted by a
court officer who asked him what he was doing. Tackman told the officer
he was a lawyer and he had just spoken to his client.
CBS 2 HD spoke to Tackman's mother Thursday night. "It's best that he
was caught," Gene Devine said. "He's not a bad person. If you know him,
you know he's a very nice person. He wouldn't hurt anyone.
"I thought he'd be out of town. I didn't think he'd stay in New York.
This means he's going to be in jail for a long time, huh? Oh shucks."
Defense lawyer Joseph Heinzmann says Tackman may have "lost faith in the (legal) system" as he faced a possible life sentence if convicted of the robberies. Tackman denies the charges.
Tackman, police said, has a long record of attempted prison escapes and who was on parole for armed robbery. Because of that, he faces a possible life term.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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