Defendant shot dead by marshal after charging witness stand during trial, officials say
Updated: A defendant in a federal racketeering trial was shot multiple times in the chest by a federal marshal Monday after he lunged toward the witness stand holding a pen or pencil, officials said. The defendant, 25-year-old Siale Angilau, died in the hospital at around 2 p.m.
The trial of Angilau was the first one to be held in the new federal courthouse in Salt Lake City. A claimed member of the Tongan Crips gang, he was in the initial day of a jury trial on charges related to the 2007 shooting of two federal marshals, according to KUTV and the Salt Lake Tribune.
The witness, who was testifying about the inner workings of the Tongan Crips, was not injured. The courthouse was put on lockdown after the shooting, which occurred at about 9:25 a.m. After the shooting, the judge declared the trial a mistrial.
Details about the case against Angilau are discussed in a 2013 decision by the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Findlaw provides a copy of the court’s written opinion (PDF).
Reuters and USA Today also have stories.
Related coverage:
Deseret News (2008): “4 indicted in string of robberies”
Updated at 8:09 p.m. to report Angilau’s death.
