Attacked in court
2008-10-09
Lise Beyers
A LOCAL magistrate came within inches of his life, when an accused jumped out of the dock and headed straight for his neck on Tuesday. Magistrate Dudley Nel was presiding over a case in the Paarl Regional Court in which Leon Alexander stands accused of a robbery in Franschhoek in 2004. Halfway through the hearing, Alexander caused pandemonium in the court-room when he jumped up, overpowering the court orderly, before heading straight for Nel. He landed on top of Nel and started to strangle him. Police and security officials outside the court-room heard the commotion and rushed in to help. Alexander was eventually dragged off the magistrate and restrained. He was taken directly to the police cells and detained. Nel was rushed to Paarl MediClinic for treatment to his injured neck, as well as a gash to the back of his head which he sustained when he fell backwards. Nel said that all he could remember about the attack was the accused saying from the dock that he had a “mission” to kill him, before he lunged towards him. It is not unknown for prisoners to become involved in gang activities in prisons, and then having to prove themselves to senior gang members by such aggressive behaviour. After the attack it was business as usual at the Regional Court for the rest of the afternoon, but entrance to the building was controlled to limit the number of people in the building. But court personnel, who wish to remain annonymous voiced their fear for their safety after the attack. “By law there should be two orderlies in each court-room, but here we only have one per room. “And sometimes these orderlies are not up to standard. “We can only hope that this is now a wake-up call for them.” Sherildene Martin, head of courts for the area, said the Department of Justice regretted the incident. “This is an isolated incident. We do everything in our power to ensure the safety of our personnel, as well as the public who make use of the courts. “Apart from the court orderlies who are members of the police, we have sufficient security in and around the building to ward off serious threats. “Obviously Alexander was out of control and took his chance.” Apart from the charge of robbery still hanging over his head, he now faces a charge of attempted murder.
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