SALT LAKE CITY, April 21 (UPI) -- The first trial in the new federal courthouse in Salt Lake City was interrupted Monday morning when a U.S. marshal shot the defendant, the FBI said.
Siale Angilau, 25, is an alleged member of the Tongan Crips and charged with shooting two deputy marshals in 2007. Angilau, holding a pen or pencil, was allegedly trying to attack a witness when he was shot, Mark Dressen, an FBI agent said.
Dressen said Angilau was still alive when he was taken to a hospital. The witness was not hurt.
The trial was the first to be held in the new courthouse, which opened last week, and the last in a series of cases that have been going on for several years. A total of 17 members and associates of the Tongan Crips were indicted on racketeering charges.
The courthouse is a 10-story glass building, tall by Salt Lake City standards. The Salt Lake Tribune says many local residents already hate it and have nicknamed it the "Borg cube" after the villainous interlinked Borg of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
[Salt Lake Tribune]
