One of the bullets St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez fired into Philando Castile’s car last July struck the back seat, less than two feet from where a 4-year-old child was strapped into her pink car seat, according to court testimony Wednesday.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension crime lab supervisor Lindsey Garfield walked the jury through the bullet’s trajectory when she was called to the witness stand in Ramsey County District Court to testify in the officer’s ongoing manslaughter trial.
Also testifying Wednesday morning were the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Castile, as well as a clinical toxicologist hired by the state to interpret THC levels found in Castile after his death. THC is a chemical found in marijuana.
Garfield led the BCA’s effort to process the scene after Yanez fatally shot Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights last July 6. The BCA handled the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
The shooting took place shortly after Castile informed the officer he had a firearm on him. Castile had a permit to carry his gun, though he hadn’t disclosed that to Yanez before the shooting took place.
Yanez asked to see Castile’s driver’s license and proof of insurance upon approaching the car. The state maintains the officer recklessly shot Castile as he was attempting to access his wallet, which contained his driver’s license and gun permit.
The defense claims Yanez fired in self-defense after Castile ignored his orders to stop reaching for his gun. They also allege Castile was high at the time of the traffic stop and therefore culpable in what happened.
Yanez has pleaded not guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm for endangering the lives of Castile’s girlfriend and young daughter, who were present in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.
Garfield told the jury what evidence her agency collected at the scene. A mason jar containing a closed bag of 6 grams of marijuana was found on the passenger side of the vehicle, she said. The lid of the jar was off and sitting inside a cup holder.
She also collected Castile’s gun from the pavement next to his vehicle. Officers who responded to the scene left it there after discovering it inside Castile’s right pocket when the 32-year-old black man was removed from his car following the shooting and placed on a gurney to be loaded into an ambulance.
While the magazine of Castile’s gun was loaded, there was no round in the chamber, meaning it wasn’t “fire-ready,” Garfield said. She testified during her cross-examination that there would have been no way for Yanez to know that at the time of the shooting.
Castile was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center about a half an hour after the shooting.
In addition to the bullet damage discovered about 16 inches from the car seat, there was evidence of bullets striking the car’s front passenger seat, where Castile was seated, as well as the armrest between the driver and passenger seat, Garfield testified.
Diamond Reynolds was sitting in the passenger seat.
Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Richard Dusterhoft asked her to elaborate on the bullet’s precise location.
“The bullet came to rest almost at the end of the arm rest… I would say we are an inch or two inches from the end of it,” she said.
Garfield also said Castile’s wallet was found inside one of his pocket by doctors at Hennepin County Medical Center but that medical officials weren’t certain which one.
She also informed the jury that a photograph taken of Yanez after the shooting showed Castile’s white, blood-stained insurance card inside the officer’s shirt pocket.
In further testimony, clinical toxicologist Kristin Engebretsen testified that no inferences could be accurately made about when Castile last smoked marijuana from the THC levels discovered in his blood after he died.
Marijuana is typically stored in fat cells, she said, adding that the chemical starts rapidly dispersing throughout the body after death.
“Almost every single article in the medical literature says you may not use postmortem samples to determine when a patient last used marijuana,” she said.
Defense attorney Earl Gray pressed her to address the levels that were discovered though, regardless of how accurate they could be used to make inferences about past use.
“And they were high?” Gray asked.
“Yes,” Engebretsen responded.
She also agreed with Gray that marijuana can impair a user’s coordination, thinking, attention span and ability to follow instructions.
She previously testified to the state that the most common effects of marijuana use are a sense of “euphoria” and relaxation.
Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker used graphic photos to walk the jury through the autopsy he conducted on Castile after his death. Baker determined Castile suffered at least five bullet wounds to his left arm, most of which appeared to have traveled through his arm and into his chest.
Two bullets truck his heart.
“Either one of those wounds would have been fatal,” Baker testified. “I don’t think there is anything the surgeons could have done.”
Baker said there was no way for him to determine which wounds Castile suffered first.
Testimony continues this afternoon.