A man charged with attempted murder escaped from a Brooklyn courthouse Tuesday by posing as another inmate and tricking a correction captain into wrongly letting him go, sources said.
Jailbird Layquan Johnson, 22, flew the coop from Brooklyn Supreme Court at 10:30 p.m., after convincing the gullible guard that he was an old pal of Johnson’s who was scheduled to be released, even though they look nothing alike, sources said.
By the time the blunder was realized, Johnson was long gone. The career criminal, who has a decade-long rap sheet, was at court for a hearing into a Dec. 9 shooting, in which he is accused of trying to gun down a rival in Crown Heights.
After seeing the judge, he was placed into a holding cell at the courthouse on Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Some of the inmates in the cell, such as Johnson, were to be sent back to Rikers Island. Others, however, were to be freed.
Johnson duped the guard into thinking he was on the release list by giving her the name of an old acquaintance from his neighborhood, who was also at court that day and set to be let go on a minor charge.
“The inmate was in a cell with another inmate from his community,” said a source familiar with the incident. “He had all his pertinent information.”
The source said the guard should have noticed Johnson was not the right guy because he is several inches taller than the man he was pretending to be.
“The guy actually let go is over 6-feet-tall. She didn’t look at the physical appearance the way she should have,” said the source, who added that the ploy is used regularly by inmates but rarely works.
The conned captain has been suspended without pay as the DOC investigates.
Johnson is described as 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, dark-colored pants and light-colored sneakers, officials said.