A man is in custody after police say he barged into a Fort Lauderdale courthouse with a gun and threatened to shoot himself Friday morning.
Marin Stroia, 59, had a pistol in his hand when he entered the lobby of the Broward County Courthouse at 201 Southeast 6th St. through an exit door just before 9:30 a.m.
Well dressed in a dark suit, Stroia proceeded to sit on the floor in the lobby and put a gun to his chest.
Deputies and officers with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department were able to talk Stroia into putting the gun down, and the suspect was taken into custody.
The gun was recovered and no one was injured.
Stroia has open cases in Broward County for real estate foreclosure and misdemeanor domestic violence.
Stroia was also distraught about his divorce procedings and had wanted to speak to a judge, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Retired Judge Joel Lazarus said he went down and spoke with Stroia, but not before he put down the weapon.
"I told the man, 'I won't go down there until you put the gun down,'" Lazarus said.
Lazarus said Stroia told him there was only one bullet in the gun.
"I don't want that bullet in me," Lazarus said he told the man.
Lazarus said he spoke with Stroia for 15 minutes before he was taken into custody.
"He was ranting and raving about his divorce situation, but not incoherently," Lazarus said. "He needed to vent, he needed someone to listen to his problems."
