CENTENNIAL — Prosecutors in the Aurora movie theater shooting case could show as many as 2,500 pictures at trial.

A hearing in the case Tuesday was devoted to 215 of those — pictures ranging from gruesome crime scene and autopsy photographs to snapshots of James Holmes’ apartment and car. Defense attorneys say the images are not relevant to the case or could bias jurors against Holmes.

The pictures were not shown in court and few were described in much detail.

“Our concern is bombarding the jury with so many images that are very, very difficult to view … has a significant potential to cause the jury to react on emotion, anger or vengeance,” defense attorney Tamara Brady said during the hearing.

Because Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and is not contesting that he is the gunman, Brady said the defense would concede that Holmes caused the injuries if it meant the prosecution would not show graphic pictures of the slain and injured victims. But Judge Carlos Samour said prosecutors have a right to prove their case as they see fit — as long as the pictures they show aren’t deliberately inflammatory.

Prosecutor Karen Pearson said the pictures are important to “illustrate the crime.”

Speaking about posters in Holmes’ apartment that the defense said are irrelevant, Pearson said the posters “show his normality in this case.”

“There are no pictures of Charles Manson on his walls,” she said.

When the defense objected to images showing the gear shift of Holmes’ car — which apparently was topped with a skull-shaped shifter knob — Pearson said the pictures show Holmes’ state of mind.

Samour did not issue a ruling Tuesday on whether the photos can be shown at trial and said they might have to decide on a case-by-case basis once the trial starts.

“It’s going to be difficult for me to make decisions in a vacuum,” he said.

The rest of Tuesday’s hearing was devoted to trial logistics, where the massive scope of the case came into focus. Prosecutors told Samour they would need 400 square feet to store all their evidence. Samour said the court has designated a meeting room and a basement storage location to hold all the items.

The hearing is one of the last scheduled before potential jurors are set to be summoned in January for jury selection. Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, could face execution if convicted of killing 12 people and trying to kill 70 more during the July 2012 attack.

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/john_ingold