Driver IDs Brito as gunman in Ottawa courthouse shooting trial

Blake Miller said he was driving friend Anthony Brito through Ottawa when, in autumn 2023, Brito told him to follow a sedan down Route 23. When they pulled alongside the sedan, Brito pulled out a handgun.

Miller testified Wednesday in La Salle County Circuit Court that Brito aimed at the driver of the sedan. The gun, he said, initially misfired or jammed – all Miller heard was a pair of clicks – but once Brito adjusted the pistol, he fired repeatedly at the sedan.

“Had you seen this gun prior to this time?” prosecutor Greg Sticka said.

“No,” Miller testified.

“Did you know [Brito] had a gun?”

“No, I didn’t know.”

La Salle County prosecutors are banking on that testimony to help convict Brito, 32, of Ottawa, of attempted murder, the most serious of his four felony charges. Brito could face decades in prison if convicted of trying to kill Larry Burns.

The shooting was retaliatory, prosecutors have said. According to open-court statements, Burns had implicated Brito in another crime. Burns testified earlier this week that Brito, on Sept. 12, 2023, pointed a black handgun at him while their vehicles were stopped at a light near Ottawa’s downtown courthouse.

Ottawa Police Detective Randy Nelson said he examined a bullet hole found in Burns’ windshield – more bullet holes were found in the car’s body – and Nelson determined that the bullet traveled above the steering wheel and through the windshield from inside the passenger compartment.

Miller’s version of the events substantially jibed with Burns’ testimony, but Brito’s lawyer, Chicago defense attorney Charles Snowden, pounced on both men’s criminal convictions and drug abuse, signaling that neither is a credible witness.

Miller did cut a deal in exchange for his testimony. On the stand, Miller revealed that prosecutors agreed not to charge him for any crimes committed in connection with the 2023 shooting, provided that he testify truthfully against Brito.

Under cross-examination, Miller also acknowledged that he never tried to flee from Brito or to contact police after witnessing the gunfire. Only the next day, after spending a night under the same roof as Brito, did Miller seek legal counsel.

Prosecutors aren’t relying only on eyewitness testimony. When police tracked Brito down at an Ottawa residence, they recovered a 9-mm pistol with only eight rounds in its 13-round magazine.

That gun was matched to shell casings recovered at the scene, according to testimony Wednesday, and DNA lifted from the gun matched Brito’s.

Snowden pushed back against the DNA evidence. He suggested that Brito’s DNA could have been transferred to the gun from secondary sources, such as Brito’s clothing.

Closing arguments will be Thursday morning. The jury is expected to deliberate after lunch.