Grand jury investigation continues in Santa Fe school shooter case

Dimitrios Pagourtzis Dimitrios Pagourtzis Photo: Galveston County Jail Photo: Galveston County Jail Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Grand jury investigation continues in Santa Fe school shooter case 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

A Galveston County grand jury has begun hearing testimony in the criminal case against the 17-year old Santa Fe High School student accused of killing 10 people in a shooting spree at the school in May.

Nick Poehl, the defense attorney for the alleged shooter, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, confirmed Wednesday that grand jury testimony had begun, and that his parents are among the witnesses that have testified.

The Galveston County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on the grand jury proceedings. Kevin Petroff, the first assistant district attorney in Galveston County, said that he did not anticipate any new charges being filed against Pagourtzis.

"I anticipate that the cases that we are going to present to the grand jury are the cases we've charged him with," Petroff said.

Pagourtzis, 17, was arrested at Santa Fe High School on May 18, the day of the shooting after allegedly killing 10 people and wounding 13, including Santa Fe Independent School District Officer John Barnes. He was charged with one count of capital murder of multiple persons and one count of aggravated assault against a public servant, according to court records.

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Petroff said the federal investigation into the shooting is still ongoing and that any federal charges would take some time because Pagourtzis was a juvenile when the shooting occurred, meaning he is eligible for a life sentence if convicted on the state charges, but theoretically eligible for parole in 40 years.

"That's more complex, as he's a juvenile federally," Petroff said. "If the U.S. attorney is going to file charges, they have to go through a few more steps than we do since 17 is (considered) an adult statewide."

The Chronicle reported in May that the Justice Department is considering filing additional charges against Pagourtzis after some of the explosive devices found on Pagourtzis when arrested at the high school -- CO2 canisters wrapped with duct tape -- were found to be functional.

Federal law enforcement could submit separate federal charges if the evidence indicates that the materials that went into making the devices were purchased using a credit or debit card or online and the transactions crossed state lines.

In Galveston County, two grand juries are seated in three-month terms. The current grand juries began their term in July. It could be weeks after the grand jury hears testimony before an indictment is handed down, though state law requires people being held in jail on felony charges be indicted within 90 days of being detained. Wednesday marked the 82nd day since Pagourtzis was arrested.

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Poehl said he suspects the grand jury hearings could take longer in Pagourtzis' case since the prosecution can use a grand jury to compel testimony from witnesses who otherwise would not cooperate with law enforcement.

"My suspicion, since it's gone into the second week, is that (the prosecution) is at least partially using (grand jury testimony) as part of the investigation, which is ongoing," Poehl said.

Pagourtzis is being evaluated for competency and sanity by a team of experts. "Competency" in this case is defined as Pagourtzis' current state of mind and ability to stand trial while "sanity" indicates his state of mind at the time of the offense.

Pagourtzis has had only one session thus far, and Poehl said it would take at least three sessions for an initial assessment to be made. Poehl said the sessions are being done "ad hoc" as it has been difficult coordinating the schedules of the experts while also coordinating access to Pagourtzis.

Pagourtzis is being held without bail in Galveston County Jail.

Gabrielle Banks contributed reporting.

Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com