Jury finds one man guilty, another not guilty of murder in shooting outside 2022 convention

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Nogolweit Kug, 22, was convicted of murder and aggravated robbery after shooting a man outside a Sneaker convention at the Salt Palace following a fight.
His co-defendnat, Deng Mawut Buk, 26, was acquitted of murder and aggravated robbery but was found guilty of obstructing justice.
They, along with a man who previously pleaded guilty, were charged in the killing of Deliford Knight, of Florida, who police said travelled to conventions to defraud others.

SALT LAKE CITY — A jury found the man who fired a gun outside a 2022 Sneaker convention at the Salt Palace guilty of murder last week, but found another man who was charged with the same crime not guilty.

Nogolweit "Nunu" Kug, 22, was found guilty of murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies. Despite his testimony that he was defending himself, jurors found prosecutors had proved Kug did not believe he was justified in defending himself when he fired the gun.

Deng Mawut Buk, 26, was found not guilty of murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies. Buk was found guilty of obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.

Jurors deliberated for about four hours in the evening of Sept. 24 before the verdict was read at 10:23 p.m.

In the afternoon of Sept. 3, 2022, Deliford Knight, 41, of Florida, was attending a shoe convention at the Salt Palace when he convinced the three men to play a card game. Knight and his friends travel to similar conventions across the country to defraud people of money, according to Salt Lake police.

One of the men lost money to Knight, and an argument began that moved onto the street outside the Salt Palace near 150 S. West Temple. Knight was walking backward, facing Kug, when Kug pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Knight. Kug then fired the gun, killing Knight.

The charges said Buk ran toward the parking garage to get their car while Buk and Kug tried to take Knight's money.

On Sept. 22 and 23, jurors heard witnesses called by prosecutors. On Sept. 24, they heard testimony from Kug and the attorneys' closing statements.

Because Buk and Kug were tried together, each attorney presented their own arguments to the same jurors.

Kug's attorney, Rudy Bautista, said they intend to appeal the verdict after sentencing, citing that the judge denied their request to include part of the law in the jury instructions that he believed should have been included. He argued in the trial that his client was justified because the law allows for someone to act with force to stop or prevent a forceful felony, and Knight was fleeing from a robbery. The attorney also said Kug had been assaulted before he pulled out his gun.

Kug testified at the hearing that Knight had a knife in his hand when confronting him. Bautista argued that video and photos at the scene support that there was a knife as well, noting the way Knight moved his hand, which would make sense if he was holding a knife, and a bulge in his back pocket that looked like it could have been a knife.

Prosecutors decided not to ask Kug any questions during his testimony.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Buk on Oct. 13 and both men are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 23.

A third defendant in the case, Joshua Goy Riak, pleaded guilty in February 2025 and was sentenced to consecutive terms of five years to life in prison for aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, and one to 15 years for manslaughter, a second-degree felony. He is currently in prison.

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