Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that Leatham was in court on Aug. 6 for an assault charge. It was a hearing in reference to a guardianship case, according to court records, during which the alleged assault took place.
A Juneau man was indicted on an assault charge in August after allegedly attacking his grandmother during a court hearing, according to charging documents.
On Aug. 6, Tyler John Leatham, 26, was in court for a hearing in reference to a guardianship case, according to the indictment. His grandmother was speaking about an incident in February, according to a report from Juneau Police Department Officer James Quinto, when Leatham “lunged up and knocked (her) to the ground and started hitting her with his fists.”
Quinto’s report states that others in the courtroom yelled at Leatham to stop and he did. Quinto was not present at the time of the incident, and his report does not mention whether security personnel on scene took action.
JPD was alerted because a panic alarm in the courtroom was triggered, according to the indictment. Quinto wrote in his report that when he arrived, Capital City Fire/Rescue personnel were tending to the grandmother, whose age was not mentioned. Quinto spoke with the grandmother at the hospital later, and the grandmother said she had bruises on her arms and wrist and said her head hurt. Quinto wrote that he took photos of her bruises.
Quinto also wrote that Leatham was still aggressive by the time Quinto arrived in the courtroom. Quinto wrote that he saw Leatham lunge at his defense attorney and almost hit her, and that Leatham was then handcuffed and taken out of the courtroom.
According to electronic court records, Leatham was charged with a class C felony assault because he has had two or more previous assault convictions. Leatham has a court hearing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. this coming Friday, according to electronic court records.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
