Man who allegedly attacked judge gets new attorney

The Vancouver man who allegedly attacked a deputy prosecutor last week appeared in court Wednesday to be appointed a new attorney.

Chris Ramsay, the attorney who previously defended Roberto Diaz-Lara, made a motion to withdraw from the case. Judge Gregory Gonzales allowed the withdrawal and assigned the case to attorney Shon Bogar.

Ramsay said that he felt he could no longer defend Diaz-Lara because he was present on Thursday for the alleged crime. Diaz-Lara, 49, stood trial last week on three counts of first-degree child molestation-domestic violence, charges that originated in 2014. The jury found Diaz-Lara guilty on all charges shortly before noon Thursday.

Video footage from the courtroom shows that once the jury was excused, Diaz-Lara abruptly left the defense table and attempted to strike Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes with an unidentified object. Diaz-Lara also is seen in the video pointing at Hayes and yelling a profanity.

Multiple deputies and a detective in the room are seen running toward Diaz-Lara. A struggle ensued. Judge Daniel Stahnke, who is a former Clark County Sheriff’s Office custody officer, left the bench to intervene and reportedly was bitten.

“I just feel that at this time, because I was a witness there, it causes a conflict,” Ramsay said.

Diaz-Lara is being held at the Clark County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said. Because of a potential conflict of interest, Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik said last week that the charges would be filed by a prosecuting attorney in Cowlitz County.

Sheriff Chuck Atkins watched Wednesday’s hearing and said he plans to attend future hearings also.

“We don’t always have this kind of situation, where counsel or any deputies are involved in an assault,” he said.