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Sergeant who arrested theater gunman first to testify

Sgt. Gerald Jonsgaard identified James Holmes as the man he found on the ground in the theater parking lot wearing a helmet and body armor

By Sadie Gurman and Dan Elliott
Associated Press

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A police sergeant who responded to the Colorado theater shooting says he saw a suspect lying on the ground in the parking lot as two officers arrested him and stripped off his helmet and body armor.

Sgt. Gerald Jonsgaard identified James Holmes as that person in court on Wednesday. It was the first time in the trial that a witness described Holmes as the gunman. Previous witnesses either didn’t see Holmes at all or only saw a masked gunman.

Jonsgaard didn’t use Holmes’ name, instead describing his white shirt with blue squares and glasses and pointing out that he had longer hair that was bright orange at the time of the July 20, 2012, attack that left 12 people dead and 70 injured.

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