Peter Martinelli is charged with murder in the stabbing death of 62-year-old Brigitte Curtis in a scene that unfolded before multiple witnesses in the front yard of her Central Lubbock home.
Deputies in the 364th District Courtroom rushed to the witness stand Thursday morning to remove Joseph Gonzalez Jr. from the court during an outburst in which he called the members of the court crooked.
Gonzalez, 39, was one of two co-defendants serving decades long prison sentences for their roles in a 2017 armed robbery who were held in contempt of court after refusing to answer questions during a third defendant s trial.
Gonzalez and Damian Villarreal, 26, were called to testify during the fourth day of Phillip Velazquez s aggravated robbery trial. He faces five years to life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors believe Velazquez, Gonzalez and Villarreal were the three men who robbed at gunpoint seven people on Jan. 27, 2017, at the the Picantes Restaurant in the 3800 block of 34th Street.