Robert W. Dunkel Jr.

There was disorder in the court Tuesday when a defendant awaiting his sentencing became agitated and jumped from his seat, lunging toward sheriff’s deputies in Butler County Judge William Shaffer’s packed courtroom.

Moments earlier, authorities said, the suspect, 43-year-old Robert W. Dunkel Jr. of Slippery Rock, had directed a malicious comment at the judge.

Several deputies had to tackle Dunkel to the floor and wrestle with him, leaving court staff, attorneys, defendants and other onlookers dumbfounded.

The courtroom had to be cleared before Dunkel was eventually led away in handcuffs. One of the deputies suffered minor injuries.

District Judge Sue Haggerty later arraigned Dunkel on felony and misdemeanor assault charges as well as obstructing the administration of justice and resisting arrest.

He is being held in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bail.

The courtroom dramatics played out during the morning sentence court session where Dunkel was to learn his sentence on a summary charge of harassment.

The defendant was found guilty last month at a bench trial of harassing a student at Slippery Rock University in 2013. At the time, he, too, was attending SRU.

The victim in that case, a woman in her 20s, was reading a victim impact statement at sentence court when Dunkel became annoyed, authorities said.

Standing next to his attorney, public defender Joe Smith, in front of Shaffer’s bench, the defendant began making loud sighs and snorts of derision,” according to charging documents.

Deputy Eric McLafferty stepped closer to Dunkel in a maneuver to get him to stop the noises. When that failed, authorities said, McLafferty grabbed the suspect by the arm and led him to a seat at the wall near Shaffer’s chamber door.

The victim finished her statement. But Dunkel remained vexed and miffed, causing Smith at one point to walk over to him to get him to calm down.

Still, his rage simmered, authorities said, prompting Shaffer to call a recess.

But as the judge was walking out of the courtroom, Dunkel made a derogatory accusation at Shaffer while jumping up and seemingly lunging toward McLafferty.

The deputy and two colleagues rushed in and took the defendant to the floor. During the two- or three-minute struggle, Deputy Codi Csellar was cut on the finger and her hand was scraped.

A fourth deputy eventually joined the fracas before Dunkel was taken away. By then, the courtroom had been evacuated.

Smith, citing his representation of Dunkel, declined to comment, saying only, “It’s unfortunate that things escalated the way they did.”

Afterward, he filed a motion asking to withdraw as Dunkel’s attorney because of his client’s courtroom behavior.