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.