Prosecutors are asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to deny Jeronimo Yanez’s request to intervene in his case and allow his trial to be moved outstate.
The response filed Thursday by prosecuting attorneys in the manslaughter case pending against the St. Anthony police officer in the death of Philando Castile comes days after Yanez’s defense team appealed to the higher court.
The defense filed a motion Monday with the court asking that it reverse Ramsey County District Judge William H. Leary’s recent decision to deny a change-of-venue request in the case.
Yanez’s attorneys maintain that the St. Anthony police officer will not get a fair trial in Ramsey County because of what they say has been relentless and biased media coverage of the fatal shooting.
They also argue that public officials, including Gov. Mark Dayton, have colored public perception of the incident by making “inappropriate” comments about it. Defense attorneys also suggest that metro-area protesters could pose a threat to jurors on the case if it stays in Ramsey County.
In its response motion, prosecutors called the defense’s appeal “frivolous” and said it amounted to an “attack on the district court’s venue ruling.”
It went on to criticize the unscientific sample the defense used to support its request, which entailed sending an investigator to talk to handfuls of people in Brainerd and Duluth about their familiarity with the case.
“Yanez has not come close to establishing the required ‘real possibility’ that it will be impossible to pick an unbiased jury in Ramsey County,” the state’s motion reads.
Protests broke out in the Twin Cities after the fatal shooting, which took place during a July 6 traffic stop in Falcon Heights.
Castile, who was black, reportedly told 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.
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’s attorneys say the police officer fired out of fear for his life after Castile reached for his gun.
Prosecuting attorneys argue 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 next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 18.