A convicted man allegedly pulled a gun at the Adams County Courthouse in Hettinger this afternoon and the assistant attorney general disarmed him, according to a prosecutor. There were no injuries and no shots were fired.
Vicente Chacano pulled a gun after jurors convicted him of two counts of gross sexual imposition, witnesses say. Chacano was accused of molesting a girl who was younger than 15.
A spokeswoman for Assistant Attorney General Jon Byers says Byers disarmed Chacano and Adams County Sheriff Gene Molbert says Byers then took him to the ground.
Molbert says that authorities haven't located the victim's uncle or Chacano's brother and he "will be on guard."
"We don't know what the reaction of the brother or the uncle will be," he said.
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The courthouse has a medal detector but it has never been used, Molbert said.
Adams County prosecutor Aaron Roseland says Chacano pointed the gun at Byers a few feet away. Byers tackled Chacano and Molbert and Deputy Travis Collins helped subdue him.
According to a resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity, his wife was on the jury and said Chacano allegedly pulled the gun and it jammed.
Four units from the Stark County Sheriff's Department responded to the situation, Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said. However, they turned around near Hettinger County, south of New England because they were told the suspect was in custody.
Slope County Sheriff Pat Lorge called to assist and other officers told him they had the man in custody.
Hettinger County Sheriff Sarah Warner said she was also called to help with the situation but got a call back also saying the suspect was in custody.
Nearby Dakota Western Bank Branch Manager Megnus Meier would not comment on the situation but said the bank was secure. The bank is located across the street from the courthouse.
An employee at Corner Stone Cafe, which is also near the courthouse, said they did not see anything out of the ordinary this afternoon.
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Chacano is from Chile and requires an interpreter.
No further information is immediately available but The Dickinson Press will update the website as it becomes available.
