Killer punches his OWN lawyer after being sentenced to 50 years in prison for murder
A Texas man reportedly slammed his lawyer after being sentenced to 50 years in prison for murder.
Jaquarius Lewis, 27, is accused of punching his attorney, John Petruzzi, in the face on March 28 in a Harris County courtroom.
Lewis was on trial for a fatal shooting in 2024 to which he pleaded guilty. With a possible chance of five to fifty years, chaos erupted in the courtroom after he learned his fate.
‘At that point I was apparently gone. My client punched me in the face,” Petruzzi told Fox26.
“People in the courtroom said I fell back in the chair, hit a counter and apparently fell to the floor,” the lawyer added.
Petruzzi told the outlet that he didn’t realize the severity of the incident until he woke up to paramedics and first responders surrounding him.
Someone in the courtroom later told him about the alleged attack, and the news stunned the attorney.
“I was kind of shocked,” Petruzzi told the outlet. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve never had a customer hit me.”
John Petruzzi, he was allegedly punched in the face by his client after being sentenced to 50 years in prison
Jaquarius Lewis, 27, is accused of punching the lawyer in the face on March 28 in a Harris County courtroom
Petruzzi said he has represented hundreds of murder suspects during his 46 years as an attorney, but nothing of this nature ever occurred.
The lawyer was not seriously injured and Jaquarius Lewis is now charged with injuring an elderly person.
It is not yet known whether this charge will add additional time to his sentence.
The 27-year-old’s conviction followed the fatal shooting of 40-year-old Quincy Johnson in Houston.
Police filed charges against Lewis in April 2024 after responding to shots fired at 7959 Sunbury Street, according to police.
“Officers responded to a shooting call at the above address and found the victim unresponsive in his apartment,” Houston police said.
“Houston Fire Department paramedics arrived on scene and pronounced the man, later identified as Mr. Johnson, deceased from a gunshot wound.
Police filed charges against Lewis after responding to a shots fired call at 7959 Sunbury Street in April 2024
“According to witnesses, Johnson was standing outside on his balcony when two male suspects walked by and shot him,” she added.
After further investigation and evidence at the scene, Houston Police released surveillance photos of both suspects.
Acting on a tip, officers arrested Lewis the next day and identified him as the shooter.
The second man identified in the surveillance photos was questioned and released without charges, according to police.