Two attorneys injured in Contra Costa courtroom stabbing frenzy during murder trial
Reached by phone, the defense attorney for the alleged attacker said he was "fine" and the incident was "not a big deal."
MARTINEZ — Two attorneys were treated for injuries after an Oakland man allegedly used a pen to stab his own defense lawyer before turning his rage to the prosecutor, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed.
Ramello Randle, 28, allegedly broke or cut through a restraint device keeping him in courtroom chair, then used his own lawyer’s pen to stab the defense attorney twice in the head. Randle then charged the prosecutor, who received a scratch on his handle, before a courtroom deputy tackled Randle and arrested him, authorities said.
The entire Monday morning frenzy was witnessed by a Contra Costa jury that will soon be tasked with determining Randle’s guilt or innocence on charges that he murdered his ex-girlfriend in 2020 and attempted to murder a man amid a tense child custody dispute. Assuming a judge doesn’t declare a mistrial, jurors will hear closing arguments this week.
The defense lawyer, Matthew Fregi, was treated on-scene for both stab wounds. Paramedics also examined the scratch on Deputy District Attorney Kevin Bell’s hand. Both men, and Randle, are due back in court Tuesday afternoon to continue the trial, authorities said.
Reached by phone Monday afternoon, Fregi said he was “fine” and planned to spend the afternoon exercising at a gym.
“It was no big deal,” he said.
Randle’s lack of courtroom decorum has already caused on trial to implode midway through. In November 2022, his case was days away from ending when Randle exploded at Bell with a series of expletives during cross-examination of Randle’s mother, a defense witness. Randle then told Judge Charles “Ben” Burch, “shut up, I’m not your b—-,” when Burch attempted to get the situation under control.
Burch stripped Randle of his ability to serve as his own lawyer and declared a mistrial the next day. Now, the case is before Judge John Kennedy, who — along with the lawyers — must research how appellate courts have handled similar situations when jurors witness courtroom violence.
One analogous situation occurred in 1990, when an Aryan Brotherhood member named Paul “Cornfed” Schneider stabbed the defense lawyer for Todd Ashker during a murder trial, allegedly at Ashker’s request, while testifying for the defense. Days later, the lawyer, Philip Cozens, gave passionate closing arguments for Ashker’s innocence and the trial continued. Ashker was convicted of murder.
Randle is accused of working with another man, Christopher Slaughter, to kill 24-year-old Jonaye Lahkel Bridges, the mother of Randle’s child. Prosecutors say Randle equipped a tracking device to Bridges’ car and followed her to a convenience store in Antioch, where he fired at her and a male companion.
Both victims were struck by gunfire. Bridges was killed and the man survived gunshot wounds. The evidence against Randle reportedly includes text messages, location trackers, and fingerprints on the suspected murder weapon.