Santa Fe suspect indicted by grand jury
Teen charged with capital murder in school shootings
GALVESTON — A Galveston County grand jury Thursday indicted the 17-year old Santa Fe High School student accused of killing 10 people in a shooting spree at the school in May.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is charged with capital murder and a first degree felony charge of aggravated assault on a peace officer. Pagourtzis 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 ISD police officer John Barnes.
Nick Poehl, Pagourtzis’ attorney, said he was not surprised by the indictment and that he expected a court date to be set sometime over the next month.
“It basically went the way we expected in terms of the charges that were indicted and no additional charges,” Poehl said.
Pagourtzis was 17 when the shooting occurred and while he is legally an adult under Texas law, because of his young age he is not eligible for the death penalty. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on the state charges, but would be eligible for parole in 40 years since he is too young to be sentenced to life without parole.
He is currently being held without bail in Galveston County Jail.
Pagourtzis, a junior at Santa Fe High School, admitted to the mass shooting after his arrest, according to court documents. He planted explosives that did not detonate and selected his targets so as to spare the students he liked, he later told police. Witnesses said Pagourtzis entered the school early on May 18 wearing a long dark trench coat, the same attire as that worn by a pair of students who killed 13 at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999. Pagourtzis had concealed what police later identified as his father’s sawed off Remington shotgun and .38 pistol in his clothes.
Pagourtzis allegedly opened fire in an art class, moving
through the room shooting at teachers and students, and talking to himself. He approached a supply closet where students were barricaded inside, and he shot through the windows saying “surprise,” witnesses said.
During the shooting, Barnes and another officer rushed into the high school, where they confronted Pagourtzis.
According to authorities, Pagourtzis fired the shotgun at Barnes. The blast hit the officer’s right elbow, shredding veins and bone and sending blood spraying out onto the ground, according to reports.
Barnes spent 18 days at University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital before being discharged in June.
Grand jury hearings on the Santa Fe shooting began last week. Pagourtzis’ parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, were among the witnesses that testified to the grand jury.
Pagourtzis’ parents are also defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by families of the Santa Fe High School victims, accusing them of permitting their son access to their firearms.
A federal investigation into the Santa Fe shooting is also underway.
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.
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 undergone one session thus far, and Poehl said it would take at least three sessions for an initial assessment to be made. Poehl said the assessment would have no bearing on the charges filed on Thursday, but could affect whether Pagourtzis is deemed fit to stand trial.