A man accused of bringing a gun into the Broward County Courthouse collapsed in court Thursday morning while being sentenced.
Marin Stroia appeared in court Thursday morning, more than a year after police said he entered the Broward County Courthouse through the exit doors, pulled a gun and threatened to kill himself.
There was more drama in the courthouse Thursday moments after the clerk polled the jury and Stroia was found guilty of armed trespassing and reckless display of a firearm. Stroia pulled an aspirin bottle from his pocket and drank the clear liquid inside, which he told a deputy was poison, and then collapsed on the courtroom floor.
Bailiffs cleared the courtroom and the hallway as Stroia was carted out on a gurney on his way to Broward Medical Center. He was in good condition Thursday afternoon.
Investigators said Stroia's anger over his divorce proceedings prompted the January 2011 incident in which he was charged. Judge Joel Lazarus heard the commotion that day and put his life on the line, convincing Stroia not to pull the trigger.
"He said, 'I only have one bullet in the gun.' I said, 'I don't want that bullet in me,'" Lazarus said.
Stroia faces a year in prison on one charge, and five years on the other, but the sentencing hearing did not finish after his collapse.
