DA: Pa. death row inmate sucker punches his lawyer

HOLLIDAYBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man on death row in the killing of his girlfriend nine years ago sucker-punched his attorney during a central Pennsylvania court hearing on his latest appeal.

Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio is calling 50-year-old Andre Staton a “coward” for his attack on defense attorney Tim Burns on Monday.

The Altoona Mirror reports Staton was apparently upset by a judge’s ruling before he swung his cuffed hands baseball-style and hit Burns in the side of the head.

The newspaper says Burns fell onto a wooden chair, which broke, before he fell to the floor where he remained for several minutes before paramedics led the wobbly attorney from the courtroom.

Staton is appealing his conviction on charges he fatally stabbed his girlfriend, Beverly Yohn, of Altoona, after she got a protective order against him in February 2004.