Grand jury starts hearing testimony in shooting.
When Broward County grand jurors return to the courthouse this morning, they’ll hear testimony from the family who provided a home to school shooter Nikolas Cruz after his mother’s death.
Cruz, 19, has admitted arming himself with an AR-15 rifle on Valentine’s Day and gunning down 17 people and injuring 16 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Grand jury proceedings are always shrouded in secrecy and held behind closed doors. But prosecutors and investigators on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of escorting witnesses into the grand jury courtroom through a back entryway that shielded them from public view.
The jurors heard from more than half a dozen witnesses out of 15. First up was the Uber driver who drove Cruz with a black duffel bag and backpack to the school that afternoon. Crime-scene analysts and the lead detective also testified.
The grand jury was in session from about 8:30 a.m. until shortly after 5 p.m.
Among the subpoenaed witnesses were three members of the Snead family, with whom Cruz had lived after his mother died in November. They were
scheduled to testify Tuesday afternoon, but were asked to return this morning.
“The Sneads want to cooperate,” their attorney Jim Lewis said. “They’re here because they’re trying to do the right thing.”
Cruz lived with the Sneads in their Parkland home from Thanksgiving until the day of the mass shooting. Cruz texted the Sneads’ 17-year-old son while he was en route to the school but did not reveal where he was or what his intentions were.
“They’re heart broke by this thing. Their lives have been turned upside down,” Lewis said. “They gave him a home, but then again no
[good] deed goes unpunished.”
Cruz told police he was the shooter.
Before the case can move forward, prosecutors must file formal charges. Under Florida law, prosecutors have to obtain a grand jury indictment if they are considering seeking the death penalty. Traditionally, the Broward State Attorney’s Office takes all first-degree murder cases and police shootings to a panel of grand jurors.
Local attorneys who handle murder cases said there is no question that Cruz will be indicted on multiple criminal charges, including at least 17 first-degree murder counts.
Cruz’s defense team has said he is willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence in state prison. If prosecutors were to reject that offer, the case would go to trial.
Prosecutors do not have to immediately announce whether they will seek the death penalty. The decision-making process would include consulting with all of the victims’ families. The Broward State Attorney’s Office has not said whether it will pursue the death penalty.
A state grand jury is made up of at least 15 and at most 21 citizens from the community. They must decide whether there is sufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution to go ahead, and they can either vote to return an indictment or decline to file charges.
If an indictment is returned, as expected, Cruz could try to make a plea agreement or go to trial.