Kyle Rittenhouse wants his gun back — to destroy it
Kyle Rittenhouse wants his rifle back and says he plans to destroy it.
The Illinois teenager, who was acquitted on all charges in November after fatally shooting two people and wounding a third in Kenosha, Wis., in August 2020, will likely get the gun back under Wisconsin law.
Rittenhouse’s defense team filed a motion Wednesday for the return of all the 19-year-old’s stuff that cops have been holding onto.
Authorities in Wisconsin have kept Rittenhouse’s belongings, including the firearm, since he turned himself in hours after the Aug. 25, 2020, shootings in which he killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.
The two men were part of Black Lives Matter protests in the city after Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back.
Rittenhouse is seeking the return of the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semiautomatic rifle, the ammunition and parts that go with it, his clothes, his old cellphone and a $1 bill.
The filing explicitly states that “Mr. Rittenhouse further wishes to ensure that the firearm in question is properly destroyed,” according to Kenosha News.
A hearing on Rittenhouse’s motion is scheduled for Jan. 28.
The gun itself was first purchased by Rittenhouse’s friend Dominick Black, using money his pal gave him because Rittenhouse was only 17 at the time, too young to buy a gun on his own. Black, initially charged with two felonies for his agreement with Rittenhouse, took a plea deal last week in which he copped to two citations and paid a $2,000 fine.
With News Wire Services
