Prosecution wants to exclude evidence about Castile's character

Philando Castile
Philando Castile in an undated photo.
Courtesy of Sam Castile

Prosecutors in the case of St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez are seeking to exclude evidence about Philando Castile's driving record, gun permit or marijuana use during Yanez's trial, which is scheduled to start later this month.

The prosecution's filing in Ramsey County District Court this week argues that the "only purpose in admitting any of this evidence would be to try to attack Castile's character."

Officer Jeronimo Yanez
Booking photo for St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez
Ramsey County Sheriff's Office

Castile, 32, was shot and killed by St. Anthony police officer Yanez, 29, during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights on July 6. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was a passenger in the car along with her 4-year-old daughter, streamed the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook Live.

Yanez is charged with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of reckless discharge of a firearm. When Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced charges in November, he said that "no reasonable officer, knowing, seeing and hearing what officer Yanez did at the time, would have used deadly force."

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In addition to asking to exclude testimony about Castile's character, prosecutors argued that any evidence about his permit to carry application, past associations with gang members, past contacts with police or photos of Castile or Reynolds should not be allowed.

Prosecutors argue that testimony about the character of a victim can only be offered if it relates "to the incident at issue and only if the defendant had some prior knowledge of those acts." They say none of the evidence they're asking to exclude was known by Yanez when he shot Castile.

They also asked in a separate filing that any testimony about charges pending against Reynolds also be excluded. She faces two felony charges for an assault on a woman in St. Paul seven months after Castile was killed.

Yanez's defense has previously argued that Castile was "negligent" in his own death because THC was found in his system after he died. In an extensive filing by the defense this week, they asked Ramsey County District Judge William Leary III to allow testimony about Castile's driving record and marijuana use.

Yanez's attorneys also asked that the jury be allowed to see Castile's car in person and that Yanez be allowed to reenact where he was during the shooting. The defense also wants to increase the number of prospective jurors they can strike from the jury from five to 30.

A pre-trial hearing is set for Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court. Yanez's trial is scheduled to start on May 30 in St. Paul.