JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man who was at the Duval County Courthouse on Tuesday for an arraignment hearing on multiple drug charges ran out of a courtroom before bailiffs tackled and used a stun gun on him, police said.
Tyrone Gantt, 35, was in courtroom 308 in the morning to be arraigned on drug charges — including trafficking fentanyl and possession of cocaine, meth, marijuana and prescription pills — stemming from his arrest Dec. 5 at the Scottish Inn on Philips Highway, according to Duval County court records.
During the hearing, a drug test was ordered, court records show. Bailiffs were supposed to take him into custody, but Gantt ran out of the room, court records state.
“He was pursued by the officers in the courtroom, and eventually, he was tasered and taken into custody inside the hallway,” said Maj. Jim Carney, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s manager of courthouse security.
After Gantt was detained, a bag of drugs was found on him, police said.
According to court records, Gantt entered a not guilty plea to multiple drug charges connected to last month’s arrest.
Court records show he is scheduled to be back in court for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 7.
On Tuesday, there were two other separate incidents at the courthouse.
A part-time employee going to work collapsed on the courthouse steps and later died.
There was also a car crash around 12:30 p.m. Everyone involved is expected to be OK.