Long time Houston defense attorney punched in the face by his own client

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A routine sentencing hearing took a shocking turn Tuesday when a Texas defense attorney with more than four decades of experience says he was struck in the face by his own client moments after a judge handed down a 50-year murder sentence.

Houston-area defense attorney attacked by client

What they're saying:

Attorney John Petruzzi says he's represented hundreds of murder defendants in his 46 years practicing law. But what happened Tuesday in the 178th was a first for the veteran attorney.

On the surface, the PSI hearing in Judge Kelli Johnson's court was fairly routine.

27-year-old Jaquarius Lewis pleaded guilty to a murder that happened in April 2024.

Lewis was facing five to 50 years. The state recommended 50 years and the judge agreed.

"At that point apparently, I was out. My client hit me in the face. People in the courtroom said I fell back in the chair, hit a counter and apparently fell to the ground," Petruzzi said. 

Someone in the courtroom told him he had been struck in the face by his court-appointed client, Jaquarius Lewis.

"I was kind of shocked," said Petruzzi. "I've done this a long time, and I've never had a client hit me before."

Luckily, the veteran attorney was not seriously injured.

Lewis is now charged with injury to the elderly.