One of the attorneys prosecuting Kyle Rittenhouse advised Kenosha Police Department Detective Ben Antaramian to not execute a warrant to search the cell phone records of Gaige Grosskreutz, a key witness of the shooting.
During his cross-examination on Nov. 8, Antaramian confirmed that one of the prosecutors advised him to not execute a warrant to search the phone of Grosskreutz, who was shot in the bicep by Rittenhouse.
“As was discussed previously, we were advised, given Marcy’s law, it would not be ideal to execute that search warrant,” Antaramian said in response to a question on the matter from Rittenhouse’s defense attorney, Corey Chirafisi.
When asked who had advised the detectives to not execute the warrant, Antaramian identified one of the prosecutors in the case, Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, as one of the people involved.
“The prosecutors in this case advised you not to execute the search warrant on Gaige Grosskreutz’s phone?” Chirafisi asked.
“That sounds correct,” Antaramian responded.
“Have you ever had a prosecutor say to you, ‘detective, you have a valid search warrant, don’t execute it’?” Chirafisi asked.
“Not that I can recall, no,” Antaramian answered.
Grosskreutz, a crucial first-hand witness in the case, agreed on Monday that he had his gun drawn and pointed at Rittenhouse as he advanced toward the teen before being shot. Grosskreutz also admitted that he carried a concealed gun illegally because his concealed carry permit was expired on the day of the shooting.
Rittenhouse’s defense attorneys argue that he acted in self-defense because he feared for his life when he killed two people and injured Grosskreutz. The 18-year-old faces life in prison if convicted of all the charges against him.
Grosskreutz, a former paramedic, was carrying a medical kit and said he had come to help the injured, as he had at dozens of Black Lives Matter protests prior to that night. He said he followed Rittenhouse because he saw the potential for trouble and thought he might need to provide medical aid.
“I thought that the defendant was an active shooter,” Grosskreutz told the jury.
Grosskreutz represented the only chance for lawyers from both sides to question a survivor and elicit testimony on his mindset and actions, which is crucial to determining whether Rittenhouse had reason to fear for his life.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers sought to portray Grosskreutz as dishonest, noting that he did not tell the police in his initial interview that he was armed, and pointing out some inconsistencies in his early accounts of that night.
The jury was shown video of an earlier encounter between Rittenhouse and Grosskreutz in which the teen said he was going to the police.
Reuters contributed to this report.
