Western Journal – by Jack Davis
The man who helped Kyle Rittenhouse get the gun he used in his self-defense shootings last year still faces charges even though Rittenhouse was acquitted on Friday.
Dominick Black, 20, faces two charges of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under 18, causing death, according to WTMJ-TV.
A hearing on the charges against him was delayed until after the Rittenhouse trial.
“There are plenty of hearings to come,” said attorney Jillian Scheidegger, according to the outlet.
The charges could crumble because they were related to whether it was legal for Rittenhouse to have the weapon he used to kill two people and wound a third during a riot Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The charge against Rittenhouse of having the gun illegally was dismissed by Kenosha Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder, who is also hearing Black’s case.
“Their issue was that he [Rittenhouse] was lawfully able to do that, and the judge agreed, and Mr. Black’s case is in front of the same judge so it’s quite possible that the issue may resolve itself,” Scheidegger said.
The Rittenhouse criminal trial is over, but there are still civil lawsuits pending against the Kenosha police by the families of those shot by Rittenhouse.
The case of Joshua Ziminski is also pending. Ziminski, who figured prominently in the Rittenhouse trial, faces multiple charges, including arson and disorderly conduct. He has been accused of firing a gun into the air on the same night the Rittenhouse shootings took place.
In May, defense attorney Anthony Cotton tried to have the charges against Black dismissed, according to the Kenosha News.
Cotton said the law Black is accused of violating “makes clear that it is only a crime to transfer a firearm to a minor if the minor is in violation of both hunting statutes. … Rittenhouse was not engaging in hunting activities and thus was not in violation.”
In a separate motion, Cotton said the state was wrong to file two charges against Black.
“Under the state’s theory, a defendant would be indefinitely liable for each and every death that may be caused by a transferred firearm,” the motion said. “This does not criminalize a defendant’s conduct, the transfer, but penalizes a defendant for the conduct of a third party that is altogether out of his control.”
Black, who was dating Rittenhouse’s sister, purchased the weapon Rittenhouse used at a Ladysmith, Wisconsin, hardware store using money Rittenhouse gave him because Rittenhouse was not old enough to make the purchase.
Dominic Black is charged with two felony counts of providing the gun to Mr. Rittenhouse. He acknowledged on the stand that he was testifying for the prosecution in the hope of a lighter sentence on those charges.https://t.co/IEBQ6ohsfp
— Rosemary (@GardensRosemary) November 16, 2021
Black had testified in Rittenhouse’s trial and said the teenager had made it clear to him that he acted in self-defense, according to CNN.
“He said he had to do it, it was self-defense, people were trying to hurt him,” Black said.
He said in court that he hoped testifying would lead to leniency when his case comes before the court.
If Black is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison in each count, according to the Kenosha News.