The latest attempt by defense attorneys to get the upcoming trial of the St. Anthony police officer charged in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile moved outstate has been thwarted.
Officer Jeronimo Yanez’s defense team turned to the Minnesota Court of Appeals earlier this month in hopes that the higher court would overturn a Ramsey County District judge’s decision to deny its change-of-venue request.
In an order issued Thursday, the state’s Court of Appeals denied the defense’s motion, writing that Yanez’s lawyers had failed to prove that the district court erred in reaching its decision.
Defense attorneys wants to get Yanez’s trial moved out of the metro area because they claim media coverage and remarks made by some state officials have colored public perception about what happened.
With that in mind, they argue the St. Anthony police officer will not be able to get a fair trial locally. They have suggested cities such as Brainerd or Duluth as better suited venues.
But prosecutors maintain that the defense has failed to meet the legal threshold necessary to warrant moving the trial out of the county where the shooting took place.
“The district court was not persuaded that petitioner had demonstrated ‘at this time that there is a reasonable likelihood that an unfair trial would occur in Ramsey County’… Based on our review of the available record, we cannot say that the district court clearly abused its discretion in denying the motion for a change of venue,” the order said.
The order went on to point out that Ramsey County District Judge William H. Leary III reserved the right for Yanez’s defense to renew its change-of-venue request during the jury selection process if the bias of jurors proves to be an insurmountable hurdle then.
Defense attorney Earl Gray said Thursday that he was disappointed in the higher court’s decision. Gray is representing Yanez along with Paul Eng and Thomas Kelly in the manslaughter case against the officer.
“We will need to meet and discuss our next steps,” he said.
The Ramsey County attorney’s office declined to comment.
Protests broke out in the Twin Cities after Castile’s shooting, which took place during a July 6 traffic stop in Falcon Heights.
Castile, who was black, reportedly informed Yanez that he had a gun on him after the officer pulled him over. The 32-year-old St. Paul school cafeteria supervisor had a license to carry a firearm.
Shortly thereafter, Yanez, who is Hispanic, opened fire into Castile’s vehicle, killing him. Yanez’s attorneys say he fired out of fear for his life after Castile reached for his gun.
Prosecuting attorneys have argued that Castile was trying to follow Yanez’s orders to provide him with his driver’s license and registration when the officer recklessly shot him.
The immediate aftermath of the shooting was live-streamed on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend, who was in the car at the time, along with her young daughter.
Yanez faces one count of second-degree manslaughter and two felony-counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm.