Witnesses take the stand in first day of trial for suspect in 2024 Buffalo Wild Wings shooting
Jazsmin Halliburton
Editor’s note: The date and area of the shooting was corrected.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Witnesses took the stand Tuesday in day one of the jury trial for the man charged in connection with a shooting inside a Buffalo Wild Wings in Columbia in 2024.
A jury of nine men and five women were chosen for the trial, which is expected to last for three days.
Alexis Gonzales, 38, of Orlando, Florida, was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon after he was accused of shooting another man in the face on Aug. 17, 2024.
Gonzalez is accused of shooting Gary Bitsicas inside the Buffalo Wild Wings following an altercation outside of the restaurant due to Gonzalez and his girlfriend not paying their bar tab. The state says the shooting was intentional.
“He goes after the gun and tries to grab it, while he’s trying to grab for the gun the defendant turns back around points the gun and shoots him one time in the face,” said Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson.
Gonzalez’s defense counsel argued the gun went off accidentally.
“There’s no execution-style stance, no aim, no deliberation, no pause. One movement, one swing and one accidental discharge,” said Jeff Hilbrenner, who is Gonzalez’s attorney.
According to court documents, a server refused him alcohol because he was too drunk. Gonzalez allegedly left the restaurant without paying. Bitsicas followed Gonzalez’s girlfriend out the door while recording on a cellphone after learning neither of them had paid the tab.
Video was shown in court Tuesday of the moment Bitsicas confronted Gonzalez’s girlfriend. The defense argued Gonzalez thought Bitsicas was attacking his girlfriend and stole her phone when he returned back inside following the confrontation.
The state argued Bitsicas did not steal the phone and instead had given it to bar employees, employees working that night testified on stand that Bitsicas did give the phone to Buffalo Wild Wings staff.
A 911 phone call made by the restaurant’s district manager was played in court that included the moments from the outside confrontation and continued through to after the shooting. The manager can be heard on the phone call saying Gonzalez went to his truck and that he was getting a gun following the fight between his girlfriend and Bitsicas.
Gonzalez’s charge for unlawful use of a weapon stems from a claim that after he got his gun and was heading back into the restaurant, he threatened the manager by pointing it at her face. The defense noted that the threat would have happened while she was on the phone with 911, but the manager is never heard saying anything to the dispatcher.
On the call audio played in court the manager can only be heard saying Gonzalez is “coming at her”.
Security video was then shown of Gonzalez going back into the restaurant with his gun. More video shown in court showed the moment Gonzalez walked back into the restaurant back towards the bar area. Bitsicas then begins to walk towards Gonzalez when a fight between the two men breaks out and a gunshot goes off.
The state said in court that Bitsicas was shot in his head and lost his eye as a result of his injuries.