The Latest: Castile's girlfriend testifies in officer's case

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Latest on the trial of a Minnesota police officer in the fatal shooting of motorist Philando Castile (all times local):

5:35 p.m.

The girlfriend of a black man fatally shot during a traffic stop last July has started testifying in the trial against the officer who shot him.

Diamond Reynolds began testifying Monday in the case against Officer Jeronimo Yanez.

Yanez is charged with manslaughter in the July death of 32-year-old Philando Castile. Reynolds was in the car at the time of the shooting and broadcast the aftermath live on Facebook.

Reynold's began recounting what happened the day Castile was shot. She said she saw Castile leave the apartment that morning with his gun in the holster.

She also says that she and her sister smoked marijuana that day. Castile then met them at her daughter's daycare, and the foursome went grocery shopping. She hasn't yet talked about the shooting. She's expected to continue testifying Tuesday.

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4:15 p.m.

Opening statements in the manslaughter case of a Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist included sharply different versions of whether the officer ever saw the man's gun.

Officer Jeronimo Yanez is charged with manslaughter in the July death of 32-year-old Philando Castile. Yanez had pulled Castile over for a broken taillight when Castile told him he was carrying a gun.

Moments later, Castile was mortally wounded.

Prosecutor Rick Dusterhoft told jurors squad car video will be played in which Yanez can be heard telling a fellow officer he didn't know where the gun was.

Defense attorney Paul Engh says Yanez will testify Castile ignored commands and that he saw Castile's hand on the grip of the gun before he opened fire.

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(Editors: The item above has been corrected to show that prosecutor told jurors that squad car video will be played in which officer can be heard telling another officer he didn't know where gun was. Full video has not yet been played.)

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3:05 p.m.

A jury has been seated for the trial of a Minnesota police officer charged in the shooting death of a black motorist after defense attorneys unsuccessfully tried to block one of two black jurors in the final group.

Defense attorney Earl Gray argued that an Ethiopian-American woman in the jury pool didn't understand the criminal justice system well enough to follow the proceedings.

Prosecutor Jeff Paulsen called that a pretext to block the woman because of her race. Judge William Leary rejected the defense challenge.

The only other minority on the panel is a young black man. The panel is made up of 12 jurors and three alternates.

Officer Jeronimo Yanez is charged with manslaughter in the July shooting of Philando Castile. Yanez's attorneys say the officer was reacting to the presence of a gun. Yanez is Latino.

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11 a.m.

The jury in the manslaughter trial of a Minnesota police officer will be allowed to hear evidence that the black motorist he shot had a permit to carry a handgun.

Officer Jeronimo Yanez is charged in the death of Philando Castile last July in a St. Paul suburb. Prosecutors say Yanez shot Castile during a traffic stop after Castile said he had a gun. Yanez is Latino.

Defense attorneys said if statements about Castile's permit were allowed, they would argue it was obtained illegally in 2016 because he was allegedly a marijuana user at the time.

Opening statements are expected Monday afternoon after the jury pool of 23 is cut to 15.

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12:03 a.m.

Opening statements are expected to begin Monday in the manslaughter trial of a Minnesota officer who fatally shot a black motorist.

St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez is on trial in the death of 32-year-old Philando Castile. Prosecutors say Yanez shot Castile during a July traffic stop after Castile said he had a gun. Authorities later found Castile had a gun permit.

Prosecutors have said Yanez's actions weren't reasonable, while the defense has said Yanez feared for his life.

Castile's girlfriend was in the car with her daughter and streamed the shooting's aftermath live on Facebook.

Yanez's trial began last week with jury selection. That's expected to wrap up Monday morning, with opening statements and witness testimony expected Monday afternoon.

Yanez, who is Latino, plans to testify in his defense.