Courtroom video offers first view of accused Marshall County High School shooter

The 15-year-old accused of gunning down his classmates at Marshall County High School sat stone-faced as his lawyer argued he may not be mentally fit.

Sporting a buzz cut and an unbuttoned dress shirt, Gabe Parker kept his arms flat on the table and hands clasped as the circuit court judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf during his Feb. 16 arraignment.

The video released to the public on Thursday offers the first glimpse at the boy who was charged as an adult with 14 counts of assault and two counts of murder.

Fidgeting occasionally, Parker broke his pose only to talk privately with his defense attorney and to answer when he was read his rights.

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"If I could get you to speak out loud, please," asked Judge Jamie Jameson.

"Yes, your honor," Parker answered back with a surprisingly booming tone.

Parker was escorted away by an officer after the hearing ended about 20 minutes later.

A sophomore at Marshall County High School, Parker is accused of killing two of his classmates — Preston Cope and Bailey Holt, both 15 — and wounding 14 others with gunfire during a shooting at the school in Benton on Jan. 23.

Parker's parents sat behind the defense table during the arraignment at the Marshall County Judicial Center. They were across the aisle from the families of some of the victims, including Preston's parents, Teresa and Brian.

Tom Griffiths, Parker's lawyer, first made a motion to postpone the arraignment, saying the case was rushed through the juvenile court system. Jameson declined, saying he had "no evidence in front of me at this moment or any reason to believe that process was not followed."

Griffths then called a conference — a private conversation between the judge and attorneys for both sides — with Jameson and the prosecutors, in which he lobbied for the arraignment to be delayed because Parker had shown signs of incompetence. That determination, he said, was made based on "my interaction" with Parker.

"For today, we arraign him," argued prosecutor Jacob Ford. "Since there has been no articulated reasonable grounds, aside from we have a 15-year-old kid who just committed a mass murder."

Jameson agreed, saying Griffiths would need to provide more evidence to prove Parker's incompetence. "Something to give us some grip there," the judge said.

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Judge Jameson — who was ordered by a appellate judge Thursday to release improperly sealed records from the case — ends the hearing by pleading with those involved to limit the release of details about the case.

"The more you keep things confidential, the better for everybody," he says, adding he's concerned details might contaminate the jury pool.

He mentions the possibility that the case might have to be moved to a county outside the coverage area of Paxton Media Group, which is based in nearby Paducah and owns WPSD-TV and The Paducah Sun.

"We would like, if there is a trial, to attempt a trial here," Jameson said. "So I guess ask everyone to use your own discretion. ...

"But again, the less it's talked about, probably the better for everybody involved."

Parker is being held on a $1.5 million bond at a juvenile detention facility in McCracken County.

Justin Sayers: 502-582 4252; jsayers@gannett.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/justins, www.courier-journal.com/darcyc.