Man kicks lawyer’s chair at hearing

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — A preliminary hearing for a man charged in a sexual assault case was halted after the defendant kicked his lawyer’s chair and accused the lawyer of working for someone else.

Judge Bruce Romanick halted Monday’s preliminary hearing for 33-year-old Alman Wong and ordered a mental evaluation. The judge allowed defense attorney Kent Morrow to withdraw from the case.

Wong is accused of choking and sexually assaulting a Mandan woman working at a hotel last year. He is charged with attempted murder and gross sexual imposition.

Wong initially was arrested in Mineral County, Mont., on June 1, 2008, for driving under revocation. Authorities said they found two guns in his car, a shotgun and an M-14 rifle, which had been stolen from a North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper’s squad car.

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