Philando Castile Killer’s Trial Starts With Gripping Video

When the ambulance arrived, Castile was still fastened by his seat belt. He was removed for CPR. During this time, Dusterhoft said, Yanez was recorded telling another officer , “I didn't know where the gun was.”

Dusterhoft said Castile had a valid gun license but it is unclear which pocket his wallet was in, as his clothes were torn before he was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center.

Dusterhoft said it was Yanez’s own “negligence” that led to the fatal shooting and that Yanez never told Castile to “freeze.”

Though tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana, was in Castile’s system, it does not change the fact that he had a valid permit to carry with him, Dusterhoft said.

In his opening statement, Yanez’s attorney Paul Engh told the jury that Castile ignored Yanez’s commands and the officer reacted “as he was trained to do.”

Engh introduced Yanez to the jury by recapitulating his life story and family history. He described Yanez as a studious young man who decided in the 11^th grade that he wanted to be a police officer. He was the first in his family to attend college, Minnesota State University, Mankato, from which he graduated in 2010. His father is from Mexico and his mother from Southern Texas. His parents moved to Minnesota, where they raised Yanez and his two older brothers. During Yanez’s childhood the family lived on welfare and was subjected to poverty and prejudice, Engh said.

Yanez joined the St. Anthony Police Department on Nov. 19, 2011, which Engh called the happiest time in his life, as he had married his wife the same year.

On the night of the shooting, Engh said, Yanez followed Castile because he matched the description of the robbery suspect, a black man with dreadlocks and glasses. He said a picture of the suspect had been posted in the police station.

“As he was trained, [Yanez] fired close and fired in a way that others would not be harmed,” Engh said.

Defense attorneys plan to call three experts, including a toxicologist, a police officer and an academic.

The first witness to testify Monday was Anna Garnaas-Halvorson, an elementary schoolteacher at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School, where Castile worked in the cafeteria. She said Castile’s demeanor was “consistently calm” and the children and staff referred to him as “Mr. Phil.”

She said Castile never smelled of marijuana or acted in an erratic manner.

Dusterhoft attempted to question Garnaas-Halvorson on more personal subjects such as her reaction to Castile’s death, how the schoolchildren viewed Castile and where she was when she heard about his death. But defense attorneys objected and Leary sustained.

Diamond Reynolds, wearing a black and white dress, remained composed during most of her testimony, until she was shown a photo of Castile and her daughter Anna on her fourth birthday.

Reynolds, 27, of West St. Paul, moved to Minnesota from Chicago with her mother when she was a child. She said her mother moved the family to Minnesota to provide a better life for her and her sister.

Jurors learned that Reynolds has lived in and out of women shelters since 2011 and was in a romantic relationship with Castile when he died. They shared a home she found through a women’s shelter.

Reynolds called their neighborhood Zone 6 in east St. Paul. She said it was a high-crime area, riddled with prostitution and drugs. Before she and Castile moved there, there had been two killings near the home, she said.

She said Castile “always had” his gun, “for protection for himself and his family.”

Reynolds described Castile as loving and caring, said he “never screamed,” and “accepted (her) with all her flaws.”

She recalled times when they attended annual barbecues hosted by the police.

She called Castile a “friend, role model and father figure” to Dae-Anna and said he “would read books to her at night.”

Every morning, Reynolds said, Castile would take the gun out of its safety box and place it in a holster.

On the day of the shooting, Reynolds said, she and her sister had smoked marijuana before picking up her daughter at day care. After Castile picked them all up at the day care at about 6:20 p.m., the four of them went to a grocery store where Reynolds’ sister bought groceries for the entire family.

Prosecutor Clayton Robinson then showed the grocery receipt, time-stamped at 8:20 p.m., as an exhibit.

Judge Leary then called it a day. Reynolds was to resume testifying Tuesday morning.

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