The man who bought Kyle Rittenhouse the gun used to kill two people in Kenosha, Wis., and injure a third when he was just 17 is expected to take a plea deal to avoid convictions on the two felony charges.
Dominick Black, now 20, purchased the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle for Rittenhouse at a hardware store in May 2020. Three months later, the teenager used it to kill Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wound Gaige Grosskreutz during the Kenosha protests.
During Rittenhouse’s trial, Black was the first witness, telling the jury that he used his friend’s money to buy the gun but that the pair had agreed Rittenhouse wouldn’t use it until he turned 18.
But on Aug. 25, 2020, when Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha during the protests, Black’s stepfather took the guns out of their safes, fearing trouble, Black testified. Rittenhouse took his to the streets that night.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger filed a proposed plea deal for Black on Friday, in which he would plead no contest to a pair of citations, and pay a $2,000 fine, and the felony counts would be dismissed, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The deal will go before Judge Bruce Schroeder Monday; he can accept it, reject it or toss the charges entirely after throwing out a similar count against Rittenhouse for unlawful possession of a firearm as a minor.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges by a jury in November after his attorneys argued self-defense.
