Escaped Brooklyn Heights Prisoner Is Still On The Loose, Cops Say

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A robbery suspect who led an hours-long manhunt when he escaped from police on Monday is still on the loose, even though officers originally said he had been caught, according to police.

Police said Tuesday that reports that the man, who escaped handcuffed near the Boerum Hill-Brooklyn Heights border, had been caught Monday afternoon was actually a "mix-up in communication," an NYPD spokesperson said.

The man, a 20-year-old named Tyquan Ellison, is still on the loose and cops are searching for him, the spokesperson said.

The manhunt for Ellison began around 11:30 a.m. Monday when he slipped away from police taking him to central booking.

Police originally said he escaped near Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, but now say that he pulled away from the officers in the back of the Kings County Criminal Courthouse at 120 Schermerhorn St. Ellison ran away westbound on State Street toward Boerum Place, police said.

He had been arrested in Southern Brooklyn's 60th Precinct on robbery charges, police said.

To find him, more than a dozen cops and several police cars lined multiple blocks of Court Street and a helicopter flew overhead for hours, according to video and police. Police originally said he had been found after 3 p.m.

The manhunt also had several schools put on a "shelter-in" alert, or when students and staff are instructed to stay in their buildings, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said.

"Due to police activity in the area, several schools in Downtown Brooklyn were placed on a shelter-in, and all students and staff are safe," DOE representative Miranda Barbot said. "The NYPD deemed the area safe for dismissal and there was no disruption to the school day."

Police said didn't release Ellison's name or photo until Tuesday evening, along with an updated description of him. On Monday, officers gave varying descriptions to different news outlets during the search, telling Pix11 he was 6'1, the Brooklyn Paper he was 5'9 and Patch he was 170 pounds and 5'1, which would make him morbidly obese.

In the press release, he is described as standing 5'11" and weighing 170lbs, with black hair. He was last seen wearing an olive green track jacket with red stripes, light blue jeans, and black sneakers, police said.

The escaped prisoner miscommunication comes only a week after another NYPD mix-up in Brooklyn where officers said a man who fired a gun in MetroTech plaza had been caught, only to announce that they were still looking for the shooter days later.

In that case, police could not definitively tell Patch what happened with the 60-year-old man that was originally put in custody for the shooting and could only say that it appeared he was not to be the person who shot the gun because no charges were filed against him.