San Diego
A juror was excused from the Sagon Penn retrial Wednesday after she reported she had to care for her ailing husband.
The 62-year-old woman was the first juror to be excused. Alternate juror John Vickery, a Mormon church leader, was selected to replace her.
Jurors began hearing testimony Wednesday from an Encanto resident whose call to police about a man with a gun eventually led to the fatal March 31, 1985, encounter between officers and Sagon Penn.
Rodrigo Garcia was the 24th witness in the 5-week-old trial of Penn, 25, who is charged with the manslaughter of Officer Thomas Riggs, attempted manslaughter of Officer Donovan Jacobs, and attempted murder and assault of civilian ride-along Sarah Pina Ruiz.
Also testifying Wednesday through a Spanish interpreter was Margarita Amaral, who lived across the street from the shooting site and told jurors what she saw through a window.
She asked Deputy District Attorney Michael Carpenter not to show her any pictures of the body of Riggs or of Jacobs, saying she was “extremely nervous” and the pictures would upset her.
Evidence technician Gary Avery discussed the materials he collected at the crime scene.
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