By Shayna Jacobs and Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producers
Manhattan Criminal Court went into lockdown for more than an hour this morning after a defendant escaped from Department of Correction custody.
Ronald Tackman, who was supposed to face a judge today over armed robbery charges, was still on the loose as of lunchtime, authorities said.
The courts, however, were re-opened about 10:45 a.m. after SWAT teams searched the perimeter of the 100 Centre Street building.
A line over a block long streched outside the court as people waited for entry. Among those shut out of the building were Anthony Marshall, the defendant in the Astor fraud trial, and his wife Charlene.
Tackman, 55, had been transported downtown by bus from Rikers Island jail, where he has been held since last May on charges he carried out two armed robberies in Manhattan and Queens.
He was appearing before Judge Richard Carruthers today on charges of a 2007 armed robbery. He is also due to appear in a Queens court on similar robbery charges tomorrow.
Flyers were distributed to court personnel with Tackman's description—5’ 9” tall, approximately 150 lbs, with black hair and blue eyes.
A law enforcement source said Tackman was wearing a suit and was mistaken for an attorney, which allowed him to escape the officers.
A Department of Correction spokesman had no immediate comment.
