DRUG-TRIAL DEFENDANT KILLS HIMSELF ON GREEN BAY COURTHOUSE STEPS

A drug-trial defendant on lunch break from his trial retrieved a gun from
his car and shot himself to death on the steps of the Brown County
Courthouse, authorities said. He left behind a note protesting the
prosecution of drug offenses.

The name of the victim, about 50 years old, was not immediately released,
pending notification of relatives, said Capt. Craig Kohlbeck of the Brown
County Sheriff's Department. The man shot himself about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday
in front of several witnesses, Kohlbeck said.

He had double-parked his car in front of the courthouse after getting a
revolver from it and then walked up the steps to the courthouse, Kohlbeck
said.

A note was found on the man, Kohlbeck said.

"We didn't learn much from it. It was more of a protest note protesting the
prosecution of drug offenses," he said. No other details were released.

WGEE Radio in Green Bay reported the man was on trial for delivery of
marijuana and cocaine. He had been placed on probation in 1997 for drug
possession, WGEE reported.

Kohlbeck said only that the man was a defendant in a drug-related trial.

One shaken juror said he couldn't believe what happened. "I got to pinch
myself," the man said. "I walked up those same steps five to 10 minutes
earlier. If I had been there, would he have taken me?"

Kohlbeck said investigators believe the man got the gun from his car just
minutes before the shooting because they found a gun case in the car and he
pulled the car in front of the courthouse.

But some courthouse workers worried the man may also have carried the gun
inside the courtroom.

James Queoff, head of courthouse security, said the shooting incident will
revive issues of courthouse safety.