Black, 20, was the first witness to testify at Rittenhouse’s trial. He was charged in November 2020 on two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under the age of 18 which resulted in death, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty and said during his testimony that he hoped taking the stand would lead to leniency in his case.
Black will not fight to contribute to the delinquency of a minor, a non-criminal charge, attorney Tony Cotton said. “The resolution avoids a criminal conviction,” explains Cotton.
Black, who was in a relationship with Rittenhouse’s sister, testified that he bought Rittenhouse an AR-15 firearm.
Rittenhouse was too young to buy and own a gun, but he agreed to pay for the firearm, Black testified. Black also had his own firearm, and they had fired the guns in target practice in a rural area.
Rittenhouse was ‘paniced’ after the shooting, Black said
On August 25, 2020, when violence erupted on the streets of Kenosha, Black and Rittenhouse testified that they each took a gun and ammunition and went downtown to try and protect a car dealership called Car Source, where about six or seven other armed people had gathered.
Black climbed onto the dealer’s roof that night because he thought it was too dangerous to lie on the floor, he testified. At one point, he heard gunshots in the distance in an area where Rittenhouse was.
“I didn’t believe the shots were really his until I got a call. I picked up and he just said, ‘I shot someone, I shot someone,’ and then hung up immediately,” Black testified.
Rittenhouse returned to the dealer ‘in a panic’, pale and sweaty, Black testified.
They drove to Rittenhouse’s home in Antioch, just across the border from Illinois, and Rittenhouse surrendered to the police the next morning.
“He told him to do it, it was self-defense, people were trying to hurt him,” Black testified.
Eric Levenson and Christina Maxouris of DailyExpertNews contributed to this report.
