HOUSTON – Authorities said a man accused of a financial crime attacked a female bailiff, grabbing her by the ponytail, during a court appearance on Tuesday morning.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Joseph Catarineau was in the 182nd District Court to appear on a fraud charge when he was given no bond.
Authorities said Catarineau, who has declared himself a “sovereign citizen” who doesn’t have to pay taxes, is said to have assaulted the bailiff in his rage over the judge’s decision. A rookie assistant district attorney – a former college football player – and another prosecutor as well as Judge Danilo “Danny” Lacayo -- all stepped in to help end the alleged assault. The judge and others were punched in the alleged assault. All had minor injuries, authorities told KPRC 2.
A deputy used a Taser to help end the situation and Catarineau and one of the people holding him were shocked, Harris County District Attorney’s Office First Assistant David Mitcham said.
“(It’s) a paper case. It doesn’t involve violence, so it came as a surprise to everybody involved that this fracas ensued,” Mitcham said. “... It’s a very disturbing set of facts.”
Catarineau is currently in the Harris County Jail, Mitcham said.