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Kyle Rittenhouse returned to a Kenosha, Wisconsin courtroom on Tuesday as a judge continues to consider several motions, including one asking that a self-defense expert be allowed to testify in the criminal trial set to start next month on November 1st.
Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder was due to consider several pending motions on Tuesday in a bid to establish final ground rules for the trial. Rittenhouse lawyers want judge to dismiss charge he illegally owned his AR-type semi-automatic rifle because he was a minor, and allow expert testimony on police appeal decisions to force.
Schroeder dismissed the motion to dismiss Count 6, which charges Rittenhouse with possession of a dangerous weapon by someone under the age of 18, but the judge added on Tuesday that the case could be the subject of a review, WDJT reported.
KENOSHA POLICE PROSECUTED BY THE FAMILY OF A MAN WHO WOULD BE ELIGIBLE BY KYLE RITTENHOUSE
During Tuesday’s hearing, the judge also heard from Dr John Black, an expert in police weapons and use of force whom the defense wishes to testify during the trial. He was browsing live videos posted online showing the events leading up to the opening of the Rittenhouse fire, the patch reported.
Meanwhile, prosecutors were seeking permission to show a video showing Rittenhouse saying he would like to shoot men he thought was shoplifting at a drugstore 15 days before the protest. Schroeder said last month he was inclined to rule it out.
Schroeder on September 23 rejected a request by both sides to send questionnaires to potential jurors to investigate bias. The judge wrote in a letter to the lawyers that he was concerned that people would not fill them out and the recipients would discuss the case with family, friends and colleagues.
Kyle Rittenhouse accused of shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin last year, awaits the start of his motion hearing, Tuesday, October 5, 2021, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
((Mark Hertzberg / Pool Photo via AP))
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time of the August 25, 2020 shooting, is set to stand trial in the state in November on a host of charges, including first degree intentional and reckless homicide in connection with the death of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum. He is also charged with attempted first degree homicide for allegedly shooting and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz.
Civil unrest, including looting and arson, erupted in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was shot seven times by Kenosha officer Rusten Sheskey after police responded to a 911 call from the mother of her children on August 23, 2020. Blake was left paralyzed.
Blake later admitted he had a knife in his possession during the fight with the officers – despite media reports and statements from his lawyers claiming he was unarmed. He also had an arrest warrant against him at the time of the shooting. It was not until January that the Kenosha County District Attorney announced that no officer would face charges in connection with the incident.
Kevin Mathewson, a former Kenosha city councilor who founded a militia group called the Kenosha Guard, had appealed on Facebook for “patriots ready to take up arms and defend our town tonight from evil thugs” and said received hundreds of responses from people who planned to respond to the riots. Lawyers for Rittenhouse have repeatedly claimed that their client traveled from Antioch, Ill., To Kenosha on the night of August 25, 2020, to protect local businesses from rioting and looting.
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According to the original criminal complaint, several videos reviewed by law enforcement show Rittenhouse walking through a parking lot with an AR-15 style long gun in hand, as Rosenbaum, who was unarmed, pursues him. Rittenhouse shoots Rosenbaum, and a local reporter begins to help.
The reporter said Rosenbaum attempted to obtain the gun from Rittenhouse, according to the complaint. Another cell phone video of the scene shows Huber, with a skateboard in hand, battling Rittenhouse on the ground for his gun. Rittenhouse fires a shot, killing Huber. He then “sits up and points his gun” at Grosskreutz, who raises his hands and walks towards Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse then shoots him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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