A 21-year old man who took part in a drug-induced crime spree is now a convicted felon and is headed to jail for six months. Dominick D. Black is known to most as the man who bought Kyle Rittenhouse the rifle he used to to shoot three attackers in self defense during the Kenosha riots of 2020, killing two and injuring a third. In exchange for testifying against Rittenhouse, Black had those criminal charges dismissed. In court today, however he was addressing a pattern of new behavior. Black caught three felony cases last year.

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On May 13th, 2022, Dominick fled from police on a motorcycle and caught a felony charge of fleeing and eluding police, that carries a maximum prison sentence of 3.5 years. He had cocaine in his blood. He was given a bail of $5,000 by Court Commissioner Dick Ginkowski.

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On July 7th, 2022, Black was alleged to have violated his bond by riding his motorcycle without a motorcycle license and a suspended driver’s license. The group he was with fled from police. Black lied to police and said he wasn’t riding his motorcycle, even after admitting he was. His girlfriend told police the truth. On July 8, 2022 Court Commissioner Loren Keating gave Black a $2,000 bail. He was charged with Felony Bail Jumping which includes a maximum prison sentence of 6 years.

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On July 11, 2022, Black was charged with his third felony case. He was charged with another count of Felony Bail Jumping for allegedly possessing a controlled substance in defiance of his bond. According to the criminal complaint, on July 2, 2022 (Before 2nd Motorcycle Arrest) police were called to Dominick’s home for a drug overdose. Black allegedly took Fentanyl and cocaine. According to Dominick’s friend who called the police, he witnessed Black snort cocaine at about 2 or 3 pm. He later heard a thump and realized Black was about to pass out. Black pleaded with his friend not to call police and to get rid of the drugs. His friend, thankfully ignored Black’s request and called for help. When police arrived, Black was near death and breathing agonaly. He was given two doses of Narcan and still didn’t wake up. It wasn’t until Kenosha Fire Department personnel administered Narcan through an IV, did Black wake up. Since taking illegal drugs is a violation of bond, Black was charged again.

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Today, Black’s attorney and the DA’s office resolved all three cases with a plea agreement. They appeared just after 4 p.m. in front of Judge Angelina Gabriele.

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Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Daniel Tombasco asked the court to adhere to the plea agreement negotiated between the parties to withhold sentence and impose probation. He told the court that the state does take fleeing an officer seriously. “I do think your honor, that probation is appropriate in this case. I do think there are clear probationary needs…..In some respects, I do think Mr. Black is very fortunate that the cocaine that he ended up overdosing on did not have a fatal impact on him. We know very well in this court system that people every single day in Kenosha County are ingesting substances that are frankly killing them. So I think he really should count his blessings.”

Tombasco addressed Black’s substance issues and his supervisory needs. He noted that Black cannot own a firearm for the rest of his life as a convicted felon. Tombasco asked for no jail time.

Defense Attorney Michelle Gardner asked the court to place Black on probation for 18 months, noting his young age and lack of criminal record. She told the court that Black has a son and his current girlfriend in Maryland is pregnant with Black’s second child. He is working as a framer for a remodeling company. “He really has turned his life around in Maryland and I do believe the character letters do truly reflect that. He’s doing really well right now. Growing up for Mr. Black wasn’t easy. He grew up with his Mom – he grew up with his two siblings and unfortunately at the age of 15 his father passed away due to suicide…..He’s also had a lot of personal stress. It’s no surprise that people know who Mr. Black is. And that’s because of his involvement in a high-media case. Because of that, he’s has strangers approach him, he feels not safe. He thinks it’s about time to talk to someone about this personal stress.” Attorney Gardner was talking about his involvement in the Rittenhouse case. “He feels so much better now that he’s off of marijuana and cocaine,” Gardner continued.

Black used his right to address the court. He shed some tears as he apologized to the people whose lives he put in danger, including the law enforcement officers.

Judge Gabriele didn’t seem to agree with the plea recommended, and in fact, jumped the deal. Jumping plea deals is rare in Kenosha County, but in Wisconsin, judges have complete control over the sentencing. “I want you to understand, Mr. Black, that I treat theses cases very seriously. As the state indicated, there’s been an increase in the number of fleeing cases. There is this just prevalent disregard for the safety of others and the safety of law enforcement and that has translated, apparently into an increase in the number of cases of people deciding that they can just simply flee the officers and damn everyone else who may be in their way,” said Judge Gabriele.

Gabriele gave Black 6 months of conditional jail time and ordered him to report to the Kenosha County Jail this Saturday, February 18. He will have no release for work or any other reasons. She also sentenced Black to three years of probation and allowed him to transfer it to Maryland, where he lives now. Although Gabriele gave Black jail time, she showed him mercy by allowing him to have the case expunged if he stays out of trouble for the duration of his probation. An expungement would remove the court records from public inspection, but won’t restore his second amendment rights. In court today were Dominick’s girlfriend and a close friend. His girlfriend just found out yesterday that she is pregnant. Neither Black, nor his attorney wished to speak to the media.

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