A man charged with robbing a money carrier at a Publix in Altamonte Springs a year ago and shooting him in the head was found guilty on all counts Wednesday.
- Lil Burtie Willis found guilty of attempted murder in 2015 robbery
- Prosecutors said Willis shot Marcos Rivera, a money carrier
- Crime occurred in parking lot of a Publix in Altamonte Springs
A jury deliberated for just two hours before handing down their verdict against Lil Burtie Willis: guilty on all counts, including attempted felony murder and robbery with a firearm.
Throughout the trial, the defense tried to convince the jury that there was reasonable doubt that Willis, 24, was the shooter in the Oct. 22, 2015 robbery.
But that was rejected by the jury.
They heard from crime investigators but also saw the surveillance images that prosecutors say showed Willis shooting Marcos Rivera at the Publix on East Altamonte Drive.
Rivera was there as a worker, transferring money to an armored truck.
Prosecutors said Willis shot Rivera four times from point-blank range and took the money bag from him.
"So I got one bullet to the back of my head. The second one missed and the third one caught me right above my mustache," Rivera said.
On Wednesday, the defense argued that Rivera didn’t initially identify Willis from a photo lineup.
"He wasn't able to identify him from the photo lineup, but yesterday ... he was able in court to positively identify that Mr. Willis was the one who shot him," Stuart Bryson said.
But the state said that’s because Rivera had just gotten to the hospital and was still shaken up the night of the crime.
A sentencing date has not been set.
Marcos Rivera was shot in the parking lot of this Publix in Altamonte Springs in October 2015. (News 13 file)
Prosecutors said this surveillance video showed Lil Burtie Willis aiming a gun and later shooting at Marcos Rivera in October 2015. (News 13 file)