Prisoner Who Walked Out of NYC Jail by Posing as an Attorney Gets Another 28 Years
A career criminal who strolled out of custody at Manhattan Criminal Court by posing as an attorney in 2009 is paying the price now.
Ronald Tackman, 57, has been sentenced to another 28 years, Reuters reports. The state supreme court sentence also punishes him for a string of robberies in 2007 and 2008.
Taking no chances at his sentencing today, jail officials sent him to court in leg irons as well as handcuffs and wearing bright orange from head to toe, the New York Post reports.
His lawyer, Joseph Heinzmann, who also represented Tackman at the time of his escape, says his client had been sent to court in 2009 in a three-piece suit and left unattended on the 12th floor. His jail-issued canvas shoes were orange, but Tackman solved that problem by covering them with black socks.
Then Tackman went down the stairs to the 11th floor and sat behind a courtroom door. Someone opened it and told him, “Counselor, you’re not supposed to be sitting here,” allowing him to simply walk out, according to Heinzmann.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Prisoner Escapes from Courthouse, Last Seen Wearing 3-Piece Suit”
ABAJournal.com: “‘Lawyer’ Who Fled Court Is Recaptured; Now Real Attorneys Must Show ID”
