By David Boroff
New York Daily News
PHOENIX, Ariz. — At least he knows he can take a hit.
Newly surfaced surveillance video shows a criminal defendant sucker-punching his lawyer in a Phoenix courtroom one year ago.
Lamont Payne, with a long history of arrests, suddenly slugged Vladimir Gagic in the face during the first day of jury selection. Payne was on trial for assaulting a corrections officer.
“I remember checking my teeth and then realizing they’re all there,” Gagic told Azfamily.com.
The lawyer said his nose was bloodied but he did not suffer any serious injuries.
“I didn’t feel any force,” he told Azfamily.com. “I didn’t feel like pain or anything like that. It was just salty because you’re tasting somebody’s skin. It’s kind of gross, but that’s what I remember.”
Payne said it was more painful when the public defender’s office “suspended” him from his contract a couple of months later, according to ABC 15.
“They never told me why; it’s because they’re cowards,” Gagic told the TV station.
A spokesperson with Maricopa County told ABC 15 in a statement that “a contract might be placed on temporary hold if there are complaints from clients or family members, the attorney provides poor representation, or they are carrying too many cases. Mr. Gagic’s contract was placed on temporary hold after multiple complaints about his lack of communication with clients, another attorney, and PDS.”
Gagic said he is considering a lawsuit.
“What message are they giving to all the attorneys? That we are disposable, even less than disposable to that office,” he told the station.
©2019 New York Daily News