Viramontes, 34, is accused of robbing and beating two women with a baseball bat in the Bucktown neighborhood three years ago. a href=http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/chicago_news&id=9298763>He did not take the stand.
Natasha McShane, an exchange student from Northern Ireland, suffered a severe head injury in the attack, and is unable to speak or walk on her own. Her family is present for the trial while she is being cared for at home.
Stacy Jurich was also beaten during the attack in April 2010. She was the first witness called by prosecutors in Viramontes' trial. She testified about seeing a silver bat hit her friend.
The defense built its case around the argument that their client was misidentified and that Jurich, who also suffered a head injury, originally told police that the attacker could have been African American.
Viramontes is Hispanic. The other person charged in this case, Marcy Cruz, pleaded guilty. She agreed to a lesser sentence and testified against Viramontes in return.
Investigators did find a baseball bat in Marcy Cruz's van. However, it was a wooden bat, not a metal bat, but it did have silver duct tape around the handle. Fingerprints were never found on that bat, but prosecutors say there was other evidence that connects Viramontes to the crime.
