#7 - Brian Nichols
In March of 2005, Brian Nichols was scheduled to stand trial at the Fulton County Courthouse in
Atlanta, Georgia. The 33-year-old had been arrested and charged in connection to the
kidnapping and assault of his former girlfriend. After his first trial had ended with a hung jury,
Nichols’ friends and family members reportedly expressed their belief that he would attempt to
escape from custody before being tried a second time. On March the 11th,
the day Nichols was scheduled to appear in court, the prescient concerns about his
potential escape plans came to violent fruition. While he was changing clothes at the courthouse,
Nichols overpowered a female sheriff’s deputy and stole her handgun before beating her into a coma.
The assailant then changed into civilian clothes and made his way towards the chambers of Judge
Rowland Barnes. Nichols held 2 case managers and an attorney at gunpoint and demanded they disclose
Barnes’ location, at which point a court officer attempted to disarm him, but failed. The gunman
forced the officer to place handcuffs on his other three hostages before he continued into the
courtroom. Nichols then fatally shot Judge Barnes and a court reporter. In his ensuing escape from
the courthouse, Nichols killed a sheriff’s deputy and carjacked several vehicles, before eventually
getting away. The authorities subsequently launched a massive manhunt throughout the Atlanta
metropolitan area, offering $65,000 to anyone with information that would lead to Nichols' arrest.
Later in the day of Nichols’ rampage, an ICE agent was fatally shot inside his home and several of
his belongings, including his firearm and pickup truck, were stolen. Investigators later determined
that the murder and robbery of the federal agent were a continuation of Nichols’ post-escape
crime spree. The following day, a young woman contacted 9-1-1 to report that the fugitive was
in her apartment, where he’d held her hostage for 7 hours before ultimately agreeing to surrender
to the police. Nichols was taken back into custody and charged in connection to 54 crimes
he was reported to have committed while on the run. In November of 2008, he was convicted on
all counts and consequently given multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.
#6 - Eric McCullough and Antwon Lee In the summer of 2015, Tennessee man
Eric McCullough was brought to trial after he’d been accused of stabbing his niece during an
altercation at the College Hill Courts housing community in Chattanooga. The July 29th attack
left the victim in life-threatening condition and she was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
During the same incident, 46-year-old McCullough had allegedly stabbed his niece’s boyfriend,
Antwon Lee, who ultimately survived. In connection to his murderous rampage, McCullough was charged
with criminal homicide and aggravated assault. The following month, a preliminary hearing for
the case was held before Judge Gary Starnes in a Hamilton County courtroom. At the time Lee
was in police custody on an unrelated charge and, at one point during the proceedings,
he was called to the stand to give his testimony. As he crossed the courtroom, however,
he lunged at his accused attacker and struck him in the head repeatedly with his metal handcuffs.
Police officers quickly stepped in to pull Lee off of McCullough, while another man who was seated in
the courtroom got up to rush towards the scene of the scuffle. One of the officers then pointed
a stun gun at the incoming man to keep him at bay. McCullough, who was reportedly left without
any serious injuries, was escorted out of the room while officers restrained Lee on the floor.
In 2017, the former was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in connection to his niece’s death.
#5 - The Springfield Courtroom Brawl Only hours after celebrating her 25th
birthday during a night out with friends and family, on March the 2nd of 2012,
Massachusetts woman Jessica Rojas was fatally stabbed at her Springfield residence. Following a
preliminary investigation, local police identified the victim’s boyfriend, Jose Santiago, as being
responsible for her murder. The 30-year-old man, whom Rojas had been dating for about a year,
was reported to have had a history of violence. He stabbed the young woman several times in front of
witnesses and was arrested a couple of days later after being spotted in the parking garage of the
Baystate Medical Center. During his arraignment, the court proceedings were interrupted by two men,
who charged Santiago and attempted to punch him before being restrained by officers. The
struggle then devolved into an all-out brawl as the assailants tried to force their way through
the security guards to take swings at Santiago, who was being protected by the court officers.
The guards eventually pinned the two men to the ground and escorted them out of the courtroom
whereupon they were taken into the custody of the Springfield Police Department. Santiago’s
attackers were later identified as Kenneth Soto and Edwin Rojas, Jessica Rojas’ father.
The two men faced disturbance charges in the wake of the incident, and they were reportedly
released upon posting $500 bail. In 2014, Santiago was found guilty of first-degree
murder and was consequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In March of 2022, it was reported that Jessica Rojas’ family intended to organize a car parade
through Springfield with the intention of raising awareness to the prevalence of domestic violence.
#4 - The Shooting of Jitender Gogi
Jitender Gogi, an Indian underworld figure from the country’s National Capital Region,
was apprehended by Delhi Police in April of 2020. By the time of his latest arrest, the
36-year-old had 19 open cases against him, some of which involved murder and attempted murder.
Gogi had previously escaped from police custody on 3 separate occasions, and there had been a
700 thousand rupee reward, a sum equivalent to roughly $10,000, for his capture offered by the
Delhi and Haryana governments. There were some reports that suggested the gangster had continued
running an extortion racket from inside his jail cell with the help of his criminal associates. On
September the 24th of 2021, Gogi appeared in the Rohini Court Complex of Northwest Delhi to stand
trial for his various offenses. After Gogi had been led into the courtroom by police officers,
a pair of gun-wielding assailants fired multiple rounds at him. The ambush attack’s perpetrators,
identified only by the names Rahul and Jagdeep, were reportedly neutralized by the police within
seconds. Gogi suffered critical injuries after being struck in the gunfire and he
was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. In the wake of the incident,
it emerged that the shooters had made it past the court’s security by disguising themselves
as lawyers. Footage of the attack quickly went viral on social media, leading many to question
the adequacy of the Rohini complex’s security protocols. It was reported that Rahul and Jagdeep
had been hired by Gogi’s longtime rival, Sunil Tajpuria, to eliminate the prolific gangster.
#3 - Siale Angilau In April of 2014, Siale Angilau, who also went by
the street name “C-Down”, was the first defendant to stand trial in Utah’s newly constructed
federal courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City. The 25-year-old was a reported member of the Tongan
Crips, a street gang prevalent throughout much of the western United States. Angilau had previously
been one of 17 gang members named as part of a 2010 indictment on charges of assault, conspiracy,
robbery and weapons-related offenses. Prior to Angilau’s 2014 appearance in court,
Judge Tena Campbell had ordered that he be left unshackled during the hearing. Although some
regarded the judge’s decision as misguided, the defendant was nevertheless allowed into
the courtroom unrestrained. As soon as the first witness, Vaiola Tenifa, was called to the stand,
Angilau stood up, grabbed a pen and pencil from his defense lawyer, and charged the bench. The
enraged gangster climbed over the witness stand and attempted to attack Tenifa with
the writing utensils. A US Marshal at the scene swiftly pivoted from behind the bench and shoot
Angilau several times. The maneuver performed by the law enforcement officer had successfully kept
the courtroom’s attendees out of the line of fire. Video of the incident, which resulted in Angilau’s
death, was released in 2018 and gained millions of views on social media. Following an official
investigation, the US Department of Justice announced that the marshal who’d fatally shot
Angilau was justified in his actions, and no charges were filed against the federal agent.
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#2 - Faisal Khan
Ahmadi Muslim Tahir Naseem was arrested in Pakistan,
in 2018, on blasphemy charges that were connected to his alleged claims of being a prophet of Islam.
As was underlined by several subsequent reports, the topic of blasphemy has been known to generate
controversy in Pakistan, where people convicted of the charge can be sentenced to life imprisonment
or, in some cases, even put to death. While in the custody of Pakistani officials, Naseem,
an American citizen from Illinois, was provided consular assistance by the US government. Federal
agents reportedly coordinated with the government in Pakistan in an attempt to prevent Naseem from
becoming the target of violent attacks by those who’d seek retaliation against him for his
alleged claims. On July the 29th of 2020, Naseem was taken to a courtroom in Peshawar to stand
trial. During the course of the hearing, a young Pakistani Muslim, later identified as Faisal Khan,
walked into the courtroom and shot Naseem a total of six times. The victim succumbed to
his gunshot wounds before he could be taken to a hospital. Following the incident, thousands
gathered on the streets of Peshawar in support of Khan’s actions, which were interpreted as a
violent expression of the anti-Ahmadi sentiment commonly held by members of other Muslim sects.
The details of the specific events that had led to Naseem’s initial arrest were not made
readily available to the public. However, in a statement issued by the US State Department,
it was revealed that Naseem had been lured to Pakistan from his home in Illinois by unidentified
individuals who then used the stipulations of the country’s blasphemy laws to entrap him.
#1 - Luis Bracamontes On October the 24th of 2014,
Luis Bracamontes fatally shot a police officer in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood of Sacramento,
California. The 44-year-old, an illegal immigrant who’d previously been deported twice, then
continued his violent crime spree by carjacking multiple vehicles, seriously wounding a civilian
motorist in the process. When the police later tracked Bracamontes down near the city of Auburn,
the suspect opened fire on the pursuing officers, killing a second sheriff’s deputy
and critically injuring his partner. Following an extensive manhunt throughout the surrounding area,
Bracamontes was taken into custody and charged with several offenses that included murder,
attempted murder, and carjacking. The court proceedings associated with the case unfolded
over a period of roughly 4 years. One of the factors that had contributed to the trial’s
prolongation consisted of Bracamontes’ repeated outbursts in the courtroom, many of which involved
him declaring that he intended to commit further acts of violence against police officers. The
defendant needed to be removed from the courtroom on a number of occasions during the lengthy trial,
including an instance in which he’d directed a threatening and profane verbal tirade towards
relatives of the slain officers. The legal process reached a decisive point
on March the 27th of 2018 when, after four hours of deliberation, the jury assigned to Bracamontes’
case presented their final verdict. The man was convicted on all counts levied against him,
and the jurors recommended that he be given the death penalty. As the verdict was read
aloud in court, Bracamontes simply grinned and chuckled to himself in a chilling and callous
display of disrespect towards the victims of his various crimes. The following month,
he was formally sentenced to death by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Steve White.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather have jury duty be your full time job or have to sit in
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