A district court judge in Texas was punched and then accidentally tased when he tried to help subdue an unruly defendant who reportedly attacked a bailiff and the prosecutor after he was denied bond, witnesses say.
Joseph Catarineau, 58, was making an appearance for financial fraud charges before state District Judge Danilo 'Danny' Lacayo in Houston on Tuesday when the judge asked if the defendant needed an attorney, witnesses told the Houston Chronicle.
Lacayo denied the defendant bond and directed a bailiff to take him into custody, according to witness Daniel Glasscock, who was waiting to appear in another case.
That's when the 'fracas' broke out, Harris County District Attorney’s Office First Assistant David Mitcham said.
Catarineau addressed the judge disrespectfully and when the female bailiff tried to take him into custody, Catarineau grabbed the bailiff's hair, took her to the ground and began punching her, according to prosecutor Jacob Salinas.
'He was just wailing on her, so I tried to jump in,' Salinas said.
Lacayo came down from his bench and tried to help subdue the defendant, and both traded punches with Catarineau, he said.
As Salinas, a former college football lineman, and Lacayo held the man, the bailiff retrieved the stun gun that had knocked from her hand and tased him - but it gave all three men a jolt because the judge and prosecutor were touching Catarineau when he was hit with the Taser, Salinas said.
Pictured: Judge Danilo Lacayo, left, and fraud defendant Joseph Catarineau, right
Harris County District Attorney’s Office First Assistant David Mitcham, pictured, said 'it's a paper case, it doesn't involve violence, so it's a surprise to everyone why this fracas ensued'
Catarineau was out on bond and was not handcuffed at the time of the attack, KHOU reported.
'The bottom line is that I'm not going to let a deputy get beat up in front of me,' Lacayo said.
While David Mitcham of the Harris County District Attorney's Office told KHOU that no video of the wild incident exists, a mugshot of Catarineau shows him sporting a black eye following the courtroom scuffle.
Catarineau had been charged in 2018 with submitting false financial statements that he had worked for American Airlines and Envoy Air and was owed money by the two companies.
'It's a paper case, it doesn't involve violence, so it's a surprise to everyone why this fracas ensued' Mitcham said of the incident.
Court records show that Catarineau's attorney, David Kiatta, had asked the judge to withdraw from the case on December 13.
Catarineau had worked as a pilot for Envoy Air until he was fired in 2017 for 'erratic behavior,' according to court records.
Judge Lacayo's 182nd District courtroom, entrance pictured above
He ran into legal trouble after filing a $37 million lien against American Airlines, where he claimed he provided labor, services and materials on 50 airplanes.
However, as a pilot, Catarineau would not have done labor or services for any aircrafts.
Several months later, he filed another baseless lien, this time citing services on dozens of other airplanes.
He proclaimed himself a 'sovereign citizen' who did not have to pay federal income tax.
The sovereign citizen movement has an extremist following that believes itself exempt from most federal and state laws and has been linked to violence.
He now likely faces three counts of assault on a public servant and remains behind bars at the Harris County jail, said senior Harris County prosecutor Sean Teare.
The incident is just one of many plaguing courtrooms across the state of Texas, with 1200 similar cases of courtroom assaults occurring this year alone.
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