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Rittenhouse seeks return of rifle he used to shoot 3 in Kenosha

By The Associated Press
Kyle Rittenhouse, center, looks over to his attorneys as the jury is dismissed for the day during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)

Kyle Rittenhouse, center, looks over to his attorneys as the jury is dismissed for the day during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool) (SEAN KRAJACIC/AP)

KENOSHA, Wis. – Kyle Rittenhouse, the former Antioch teen acquitted of fatally shooting two men and wounding a third during street protests in Kenosha in 2020, is seeking the return of the gun and other property that police seized after his arrest.

Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards filed paperwork with the Kenosha County Circuit Court on Wednesday seeking the return of the items, explaining that Rittenhouse wants the AR-15-style rifle back so that it can be destroyed, the Kenosha News reported.

Law enforcement has had the gun since the day after Rittenhouse shot three men, two of them fatally, on Aug. 25, 2020, during a night of protests and unrest in Kenosha over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer.

Rittenhouse turned himself in to police in his then-hometown of Antioch within hours of the shootings. In November, the 19-year-old was found not guilty of all charges related to the shooting deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz.

Rittenhouse said he went to Kenosha to protect property from rioters and that he acted in self-defense after he came under attack and feared for his life.

Prosecutors portrayed Rittenhouse as a “wannabe soldier” who had gone looking for trouble, while his supporters regarded him as a patriot who took a stand against lawlessness.

The gun was purchased by Dominick Black for Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time and unable to legally buy a gun and “was to become the legal property of Kyle Rittenhouse upon his 18th birthday,” which was Jan. 3, 2021, the motion stated.

Earlier this month, Black pleaded guilty to two citations for contributing to the delinquency of a minor in exchange for prosecutors dropping two felony charges of intent to sell a dangerous weapon to a person younger than 18.

According to court documents, Rittenhouse is also looking to retrieve the ammunition, the sling and the magazine from the firearm, his cellphone, a cloth mask, the clothing he was wearing the night of the shootings and a $1 bill.

A court hearing on the motion is scheduled for Jan. 28.

Kyle RittenhouseAntioch