Two arrested, pepper spray deployed as victim's family reacted, officials say.

By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, October 10, 2008

Chaos broke out in a Travis County courtroom Thursday as family members of a murder victim rushed toward the judge's bench, possibly unhappy with the sentence reached under a plea bargain in the case.

Travis County sheriff's deputies, who provide courtroom security, used pepper spray during the melee in the 147th District Court that officials estimated lasted about five minutes. A sheriff's office spokesman said two people were arrested for hindering a courtroom proceeding by disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

It happened when state District Judge Wilford Flowers was about to sentence defendant Larry Alexander to 25 years in prison. Earlier in the hearing, Alexander, 22, pleaded guilty to murder in the July 2007 fatal shooting of 21-year-old Priscilla Calderon.

"Just as they announced the plea bargain, the family just started going berserk, screaming and yelling," said Bill Hines, Alexander's defense lawyer.

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