Background: The Harris County Criminal Justice Center on Franklin Street in Houston, Texas (Google Maps). Inset top: John Petruzzi (John Petruzzi/Facebook). Inset bottom: Jaquarius Lewis (Houston Police Department).
When a man in Texas found out he was going to spend the next half century in prison, he allegedly punched his lawyer in the face.
Jaquarius Lewis, 27, was charged with murdering 40-year-old Quincy Johnson in April 2024, according to the Houston Police Department. He pleaded guilty in January and appeared in court Tuesday, receiving a sentence of 50 years behind bars, area Fox affiliate KRIV reported.
Then came the violence in the courtroom.
“At that point apparently, now I was out … my client hit me in the face, and people in the courtroom say that I fell back,” Houston-area defense attorney John Petruzzi told the local outlet. “I was standing, I fell back against the chair, and then I hit a counter and hit the back of my head.”
“I don”t remember any of that,” Petruzzi added, saying he regained consciousness to find himself surrounded by bailiffs and paramedics. Someone then reportedly asked him, “Do you realize that your client just punched you in the face?”
The attorney said he was “shocked” as he’s been a defense attorney for “a long time” and had never before been hit by a client. He was not seriously injured in the alleged attack.
Lewis, the since-sentenced defendant, now reportedly faces a new charge: injury to an individual who is at least 65 years of age.
On April 18, 2024, at about 7 p.m., Johnson was standing outside on his balcony on Sunbury Street in Houston, Texas, “when two male suspects walked by and shot him,” police said. Officers responded to the scene “and found the victim unresponsive in his apartment.”
Law enforcement investigated and developed two suspects. Police said they identified Lewis as the shooter and arrested him on May 3, 2024. The other man “was questioned and released without charges.”
According to Houston ABC affiliate KTRK, Lewis had asked the court for a new attorney and to dismiss his court-appointed attorney — Petruzzi — on Dec. 26, 2025.
It’s unclear whether Lewis could face more time in prison due to the new charge.
