GALVESTON, Texas – Several Galveston County deputies watched over the parking lot, the front entrance of the courthouse and the courtroom Monday where a hearing took place for the suspect in last year's rampage at Santa Fe High School.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis has been charged with capital murder of multiple persons and aggravated assault on a public servant in connection with the May 18 mass shooting.
Pagourtzis, who has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest, appeared in court via video conference. It was the first time he appeared in court since the hearing after his arrest.
Jared Black, Shana Fisher, Christian Garcia, Aaron McLeod, Glenda Perkins, Angelique Ramirez, Sabika Sheikh, Christopher Stone, Cynthia Tisdale and Kimberly Vaughan were killed in the shooting.
Roughly three dozen family members attended the status conference, which lasted less than 10 minutes. These procedural hearings are designed to give the court an update on where prosecutors and defense attorneys stand in terms of gathering necessary materials to prepare their cases for trial.
Some family members were seen crying as boxes of tissues were passed around. One mother broke down in tears and briefly left the courtroom.
Pagourtzis was seen on a monitor sitting quietly with his hands cuffed and one of his attorneys by his side.
Attorneys for Pagourtzis have filed a change of venue request, saying their client cannot receive a fair trial in Galveston County. Prosecutors told the judge they would respond to that motion by Friday. A hearing on the issue will be scheduled once that response has been filed.
The judge also scheduled a disposition conference for approximately 90 days from now. These proceedings are for the court to start setting firm deadlines for the filing of motions and pretrial conferences. Prosecutors told the judge they are still waiting on the results of computer forensic work from federal investigators assisting with the investigation. Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady told the judge he expected to have those results in 90 days.
Nicholas Poehl, one of Pagourtzis' attorneys, said the defense team was nearing the completion of psychological testing for their client. Poehl said he did not expect the case to go to trial until late 2019 or possibly 2020.