SANFORD, Fla. –
The jury has found the man accused of shooting an armored truck driver in the head outside a busy local Publix in Central Florida guilty of attempted murder and armed robbery.
The Loomis money carrier who was shot while working at an Altamonte Springs Publix last October took the stand in court on Tuesday.
A jury found Lil Burtie Willis guilty just before 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday after nearly two hours of deliberations.
Marco Rivera was shot several times, including twice in the head during an armed robbery on Oct. 22, 2015.
"On my way out to the store, of the store, I noticed a man walk in front of the sliding doors going to the cart section of the Publix," said Rivera.
Looking at the accused shooter face-to-face, almost one year since the shooting, Rivera described what he remembers from the frightening incident.
"The first shot when I saw him pull out the weapon and I already noticed I wasn't going to be able to draw my weapon so, I kind of turned around. So, I got one bullet to the back of my head," said Rivera. "The fourth shot missed. It went passed by my head."
Rivera said that Willis caught his attention before the shooting because Rivera said that Willis had on heavy clothing and his face was covered with a hat and glasses on a warm Florida afternoon.
Willis was arrested several days after the shooting.
His brother was charged with stealing the car believed to be the getaway vehicle after the shooting.
In 911 calls released days after the incident, witnesses were heard describing Publix employees and shoppers surrounding Rivera, all trying to keep him alive. Rivera recalled those moments to the jury.
"As I fell on the ground, I got a lot of people that came to my aid. Put some rags, napkins, you know to stop the bleeding," said Rivera.
Surveillance video of the actual shooting was shown to the jury on Tuesday.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it search Willis' cellphone on Oct. 30, 2015. Investigators claim his phone showed internet searches for news articles about the Publix shooting, just moments after the incident.
"Yes between October 22 and the following morning there were several different news related articles that were visited by the user on this web browser," testified Special Agent Nathan McFelia.
A witness also appeared via Skype, telling the jury how her 1997 Nissan Maxima was stolen from an Altamonte Springs convenience store two days before the Publix shooting.
A detective also testified it was Willis' brother who stole the car.