Suspect attacks witness in court

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Sint Maarten Courthouse

GREAT BAY – The upstairs courtroom at the courthouse turned into a wrestling ring yesterday afternoon when, out of the blue, suspect Reini Etlaning D. jumped out of his chair to attack a man who acted as a witness in the case against him. Before the guards could intervene, the 20-year old suspect managed to punch the witness.

Then the guards were on top of the attacker, they handcuffed him and led him out of the courtroom. Later in the afternoon, D. returned to the courtroom for an announcement by Judge Maria Paulides that his case has been postponed to August 12.

He used the occasion to apologize to the judge for his behavior. “You should apologize to the witness,” the judge said, “but he is no longer here.”

Source TODAY NEWSPAPER