Nearly a year after a money carrier was shot and robbed on his way to his armored car outside an Altamonte Springs Publix, a jury on Wednesday found Lil Burtie Willis guilty on all counts after nearly two hours of deliberations.
Throughout the day, defense attorneys tried to convince a jury that it was a case of mistaken identity.
Prosecutors asked the jury to use common sense to add things up in the case, but the defense told the jury that it was a giant coincidence.
On the stand Tuesday, victim Marcos Rivera pointed to Willis and told the jury that Willis shot him on Oct. 22, 2015.
Willis, 24, was arrested five days later on charges of attempted murder, robbery with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
'I caught one bullet to the back of my head,' says victim of armored truck attempted robbery
Updated: SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Court will resume Wednesday in the attempted-murder trial connected to a shooting inside a Publix grocery story in Altamonte Springs. LilBurtie Willis is accused of trying to kill an armored car worker during an attempted robbery around 3:30 p.m. October 22, 2015, investigators said.
The jury heard Wednesday from money and fingerprint experts and from police about the two things that landed Willis in court.
“Behind the passenger seat of (the alleged getaway car) on the floorboard was a pair of shorts,” said Altamonte Springs police Officer Anthony Van Cleave. “I picked up the shorts, and they appeared heavier than that they should be, and on reaching inside the pocket, I located a large amount of U.S. currency.”
There was more than $5,000 in the pockets, Van Cleave said.
Prosecutors said it was half the haul from the robbery. They said the other half was unrecovered and presumably in the hands of the getaway driver.
The defense claimed that Willis was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he got caught with the money.
“There was no fingerprint evidence to indicate Mr. Lil Burtie Willis had ever touched that money?” the defense asked.
“No,” said Van Cleave.
During closing arguments, prosecutors argued that a cellphone with incriminating searches, shoes matching surveillance video and a fingerprint on the door of the getaway car proved attempted murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
Back-to-back witnesses hammered down those points.
Jackie Grossi, a crime scene analyst in the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, testified that it was Willis’ fingerprint on the getaway car. Prosecutors used that to try to convince the jury that it had to be Willis on surveillance video running away after the shooting and getting in the car.
Prosecutors also brought up a possible motive.
A Seminole County Jail worker testified that Willis told her he was unemployed.
Prosecutors argued that the evidence was overwhelming and enough to put away a man for life.
“This was an attempted execution. The defendant went right up to Mr. Rivera, pulled his gun. Mr. Rivera didn’t even have a chance to reach for his gun or anything,” said assistant state attorney Tom Hastings.
But after presenting no evidence and no testimony, the defense argued that the jury should acquit Willis based on a case of mistaken identity.
“Even though I’m willing to concede to you a crime was committed, I’m not willing to concede that it was Lil Burtie Willis who did the crime,” said defense attorney Stuart Bryson.
The jury reached a guilty verdict by 4:15 p.m.
Cox Media Group
