FRESNO, Calif. - A man accused of killing his girlfriend was shot to death in a Stockton courtroom yesterday after he attacked the judge presiding over his murder trial, officials said.
David Paradiso, 28, was shot by a police detective after he left the witness stand and began attacking San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Cinda Fox during a break in proceedings, said Dave Konecny, a spokesman for the sheriff's department.
Paradiso had been testifying around 2 p.m. when his mother, in the audience, left the courtroom upset. Fox called a recess, and as jurors filed out, Paradiso left the stand and approached the judge from behind "with an unknown cutting instrument," Konecny said.
