Officer pleads not guilty in shooting death of Philando Castile

The police officer charged with fatally shooting Philando Castile last summer in Falcon Heights pleaded not guilty on Monday, while his attorney said he will request that the trial be moved.

Jeronimo Yanez, on leave from the St. Anthony Police Department, entered his plea to manslaughter and other charges in Ramsey County District Court.

During Yanez's appearance, a hearing was scheduled for April 3, as well as a tentative starting date for a trial of May 30. Defense attorney Tom Kelly said he plans to file a motion next month for a change of venue from St. Paul, just a few miles from where the shooting occurred.

Judge William Leary III denied a defense request earlier in February to dismiss the case.

Defense attorneys have said that charges should be dropped because Castile, who is black, put himself at risk by allegedly consuming marijuana and disobeying police orders.

Prosecutors have argued that Yanez, who is Hispanic, acted unreasonably when he fired on Castile seven times.

Yanez, 28, a St. Anthony police officer, was charged Nov. 16 with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm in the death of Castile, 32, during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights on July 6, and for endangering Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her 4-year-old daughter, who were in the car.

Reynolds streamed the shooting's aftermath live on Facebook. The killing set off widespread protests and came in the midst of several instances across the country of black men having fatal encounters with police.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482