A South Carolina defendant in an assault case punched his attorney in the face in a crowded courtroom after being sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday.
A video of the incident recorded inside the court shows Lamarcus Williamson, 30, standing handcuffed before a judge after pleading guilty to robbery and assault charges when suddenly he wheels around and takes a swing at York County public defender Dan Hall.
The punch caught the lawyer in the mouth and drew blood. In the video, the two men could be seen toppling to the ground before court officers seize Williamson and lead him out of the room.
In the aftermath of the fracas, Judge William Nettles added six months to Williamson’s 15-year sentence, which is the maximum penalty for contempt of court.
Williamson, who has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2000, was arrested in March for attacking and choking a female Winthrop University student. Police also found nine grams of crack cocaine on him, according to prosecutors.
During a hearing Wednesday, the judge said that the 30-year-old man’s conduct was not ‘governed by rational thought,’ and his aggression towards a man whose job was to protect his rights was inexcusable.
Williamson claimed that he attacked Hall because prosecutors said he had committed a slew of felonies. However, moments earlier, the 30-year-old had pleaded guilty to those charges.
‘I was upset because the solicitor was trying to incriminate me like I’m some bad guy,’ Williamson said. ‘The solicitor was trying to say I destroyed this woman.’ Judge Nettles, however, was unmoved.
The defendant was booked at Moss Justice Center on a $45,000 bond. Williams still faces pending drug charges, according to officials.
