A key prosecution witness in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse all but admitted that Rittenhouse shot him in self-defense.
Rittenhouse didn’t shoot longtime criminal Gaige Grosskreutz until he pointed his pistol at the 17-year-old defendant, Grosskreutz confessed during cross examination.
Defense attorneys also tripped up the shaky witness on myriad claims during direct examination and to police after the shootings.
But the admission that Rittenhouse fired only after Grosskreutz charged him with his pistol might have ended any hope prosecutors had of a conviction. A photo of a prosecutor showed him with his face in his palm.
You Pointed Your Gun, Then He Fired? Correct.
Rittenhouse is on trial for first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide in the killing of child rapist Joseph Rosenbaum and convicted strangler and domestic abuser Anthony Huber on August 25 last year. Rittenhouse also shot Grosskreutz in the right bicep, which drew a charge of first-degree attempted intentional homicide.
Rittenhouse was in Kenosha to clean up graffiti, provide first aid, and provide security to businesses during the riots after police shot sex-assault fugitive Jacob Blake. Rosenbaum attacked Rittenhouse, as did Huber. Grosskreutz charged Rittenhouse with a raised pistol as he sat on the ground after shooting Huber. Rittenhouse then shot Grosskreutz.
Video clearly shows that Rittenhouse shot all three men in self defense.
Showing Grosskreutz and the jury a photo of Grosskreutz with his pistol aimed at Rittenhouse, defense attorney Corey Chirafisi asked the question that might acquit Rittenhouse on the counts related to Grosskreutz.
“You’d agree your firearm is pointed at Mr. Rittenhouse, correct,” Chirafisi asked.
“Yes,” Grosskreutz, replied.
Chirafisi: And, once your firearm is pointed at Mr. Rittenhouse, that’s when he fires his gun, yes?
Grosskreutz: No….
Chirafisi: Does this look like right now your arm is being shot?
Grosskreutz: That looks like my bicep being vaporized, yes.
Chirafisi: OK. And it’s being vaporized as you’re pointing your gun directly at him, yes?
Grosskreutz: Yes.
Chirafisi: K. So, when you were standing three to five feet from him with your arms up in the air, he never fired, right?
Grosskreutz: Correct.
Chirafisi: It wasn’t until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him, with your gun — now your hands down, pointed at him — that he fired, right?
Grosskreutz: Correct.
Other Damaging Testimony
Grosskreutz also testified that he illegally carried his Glock .40-caliber that night because his permit had expired.
And Chirafisi forced another admission from Grosskreutz related to his $10 million lawsuit against the city. The lawsuit does not mention that he possessed a firearm the night he was shot. Nor did Grosskreutz mention that fact in his federal claim against the city.
In another twist, Grosskreutz pal Jacob Marshall, who famously said Grosskreutz told him he regretted not killing Rittenhouse, left the courtroom when served with a subpoena.
Writing on Facebook last year just after the shootings, Marshall put it this way: “I just talked to Gaige Grosskreutz too his only regret is not killing the kid and hesitating to pull the gun before emptying the entire mag into him.”
The post featured a photo of the two in the hospital where Grosskreutz was recovering.
Asked about that claim on the stand, Grosskreutz denied that he told Marshall any such thing.
Grosskreutz’s Record
Though Grosskreutz spoke of his “lifelong ethical code,” his lengthy criminal record shows he often falls short of it.
In addition to confessing to a gun crime on the witness stand today, in 2017, he was convicted of carrying a firearm while intoxicated. Grosskreutz’s grandmother accused him of slapping her.
Last October, cops stopped the angry leftist for driving while intoxicated and driving with a prohibited blood-alcohol content. He also refused an intoxication test.
Prosecutors dismissed the charges.
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