By Canadian Press

Cops: Boxer Paul Spadafora stabbed brother, fought with cops

Dec 22, 2016 | 5:30 AM

PITTSBURGH — Former lightweight boxing champ Paul Spadafora is in jail again, this time for allegedly stabbing his brother during an argument and then fighting with police officers called to intervene, according to a criminal complaint.

Spadafora, 41, stabbed his brother in the thigh Wednesday night, then refused to co-operate once officers arrived at the residence, where Spadafora was also charged with assaulting his mother, according to authorities.

Spadafora allegedly threatened police telling his mother, “Get all their names. I know they have to live in the city. I’m gonna kill them.” Police used a stun gun on Spadafora after he attempted to throw something at them, and put a mask on him after he tried to spit on the officers, police said.

Spadafora was jailed overnight on charges including aggravated assault, terroristic threats and aggravated harassment by a prisoner, according to online court records.

“This time of year is always very emotional for families and family members, and we will patiently await to give further comment after the arraignment but before the preliminary hearing,” defence attorney Phil DiLucente told The Associated Press in a text message.

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Spadafora remained in the Allegheny County jail early Thursday, unable to immediately post $100,000 bail. His preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 4.

Spadafora has a long history of assaultive and drunken episodes and once served 13 months in a state prison boot camp for the shooting of his then-girlfriend in 2003.

More recently, Spadafora agreed in May to take anger management classes to resolve charges that he put a woman in a headlock at a Pittsburgh-area bar, drank her beer and then threw her down when she went outside to call police.

Police contend Spadafora baited patrons at the Redstone Tavern in Crafton on April 7 before grabbing the woman, though his attorney questioned whether the 63-year-old woman started the fight. She suffered scrapes to her knee and hand.

He also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined $300 in May for another incident April 4 at a convenience store in Armstrong County.

A clerk told police Spadafora appeared to be drunk while holding a blueberry muffin in one hand and an opened, folding tactical knife in the other and yelling. DiLucente, who represented Spadafora in that case, too, called it a “prank” and said Spadafora pulled the knife so he could spread butter on the muffin.

Spadafora’s once-promising career has been marred by his arrests.

He won the vacant International Boxing Federation lightweight belt in August 1999 when he was just 23, but he had to give up the belt after he was charged with shooting his girlfriend in October 2003. Spadafora was convicted and then was paroled in April 2006 after his boot camp sentence.

He was later arrested for violating his parole by violating a protection from abuse order the same girlfriend obtained in 2007, and he twice pleaded guilty after drunken-driving arrests in 2011.

Joe Mandak, The Associated Press