Defendant in custody attempts to flee S.F. courtroom

"A defendant in custody attempted to flee San Francisco Superior Court Friday morning and was detained by deputies who chased him into the courthouse hallway. Banging was heard in the hallway outside Department 11, where the defendant's hearing was scheduled, before the heavy courtroom double doors flew open. A screaming man in an orange sweatsuit ran out, "with a deputy holding on for dear life," one witness said."

"Other deputies came running, and uniformed San Francisco Police officers sitting on a bench in the hallway jumped up and joined the scuffle. Law enforcement grabbed the defendant as he continued to scream and fight, the witness continued: "It was a good wrestling match." Another officer went inside the courtroom to make sure that no one had been harmed. The defendant was brought to the ground and handcuffed."

A defendant in custody attempted to flee San Francisco Superior Court Friday morning and was chased by deputies into a courthouse hallway. Banging was heard outside Department 11 before heavy courtroom double doors opened and a screaming man in an orange sweatsuit ran out with a deputy holding on. Other deputies and uniformed San Francisco Police officers joined the scuffle as law enforcement grabbed the defendant while he screamed and fought; a witness described it as "a good wrestling match." The defendant was brought to the ground, handcuffed, taken back to jail, and Department 11 was closed for the morning. A witness said the defendant was upset because one of his two attorneys did not appear.

Read at Mission Local