A Salt Lake City jury convicted 22-year-old Nogolweit Kug of murder and aggravated robbery for gunning down Deliford Knight outside the Salt Palace Convention Center in 2022, while clearing 26-year-old Deng Mawut Buk of those same charges but convicting him of obstructing justice. The split verdict, reached after jurors deliberated for about four hours and was read at 10:23 p.m. last Thursday, closes out a yearslong case rooted in an alleged betting scam that turned deadly outside a downtown sneaker convention.
Knight, 41, of Florida, was shot and killed on Sept. 3, 2022, during a dispute that began after one of the men lost money to him, according to KSL.com. Police said at the time that Knight and his friends traveled to conventions to defraud people of money, the outlet reported. The argument escalated and moved into the street near 150 S. West Temple, where Kug pointed a handgun at Knight before firing.
How the Confrontation Unfolded
According to the same KSL.com account, Buk ran toward a parking garage to retrieve the men's car as the confrontation intensified, and both Buk and Kug had tried to take Knight's money during the dispute. Charging documents described Knight as backing away from the men when Kug pulled out a handgun and shot him in the street in broad daylight, the outlet reported in an earlier story. A witness who testified at a preliminary hearing said she saw Knight with his hands up, trying to step away as three men continued to target him, KSL.com noted.
Jurors heard from prosecution witnesses over two days before hearing Kug's own testimony and closing arguments the following day. Kug testified that he was defending himself and that Knight had a knife in his hand at the time of the shooting, per the outlet's reporting. Prosecutors did not question Kug during his testimony, KSL.com reported. In the end, jurors found that Kug did not believe he was justified in defending himself when he fired.
Defense Plans to Appeal
Kug's attorney, Rudy Bautista, argued that his client was justified in using force to stop or prevent a forceful felony, contending that Knight was fleeing from a robbery and that Kug had been assaulted before he pulled out his gun, the station reported. The presiding judge denied a defense request to include part of that law in the jury instructions, according to the same account. Bautista has said Kug's defense team intends to appeal after sentencing.
Buk has a detention hearing scheduled for Oct. 13, and both he and Kug are set to be sentenced on Nov. 23, according to KSL.com's reporting.
A Third Man Already Sentenced
A third man charged in the case, Joshua Goy Riak, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to manslaughter and aggravated robbery in connection with Knight's killing, per KSL.com's coverage. Riak's plea statement said he had lost $3,000 to Knight before the argument broke out. He was later sentenced to five years to life in prison for aggravated robbery and one to 15 years for manslaughter, with the terms ordered to run consecutively, and he remains in prison.
The 2022 killing outside the Salt Palace Convention Center followed an altercation involving people who had left the Sneaker Con shoe convention, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
