Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Rittenhouse attorney wants to argue shooting victim was sex offender

From WISN12ABC:

Mark Richards also files motion to dismiss a charge that Rittenhouse couldn't possess a gun because he was too young under Wisconsin law
A photo shows a booking image of Kyle Rittenhouse 
SOURCE: Provided

Kyle Rittenhouse's attorney wants a judge to allow him to argue that one of the men his client fatally shot during a Kenosha protest was a sex offender, saying it supports a defense theory that he attacked Rittenhouse and intended to take his gun because he couldn't legally possess one.

Mark Richards maintained in court filings Thursday that Joseph Rosenbaum was convicted of having sex with a minor in Arizona in 2002 and was prohibited from possessing firearms. Rosenbaum started the altercation with Rittenhouse in hopes of making off with his assault-style rifle, which only bolsters Rittenhouse's self-defense argument, Richards wrote.

Kimberley Motley, an attorney representing Rosenbaum's estate, said Tuesday morning that she hadn't read the motions yet and had no immediate comment.

Richards also filed a motion to dismiss a charge that Rittenhouse couldn't possess a gun because he was too young under Wisconsin law, arguing that statutes prohibit minors from possessing short-barreled shotguns and rifles, and Rittenhouse's assault-style rifle doesn't meet that definition.

Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha from his home in Antioch, Illinois, on Aug. 25 to answer a call from a local militia to protect businesses from protesters. The demonstrations began after a white Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, who is Black, during a domestic disturbance, leaving Blake paralyzed from the waist down.

The protests turned chaotic that night. According to prosecutors, Rittenhouse opened fire on Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz. He killed Rosenbaum and Huber. Grosskreutz was hit but survived.

Read more: https://www.wisn.com/article/rittenhouse-attorney-wants-to-argue-shooting-victim-was-sex-offender/36945753

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