FILE – In this Feb. 25, 2019 file photo, Dimitrios Pagourtzis is escorted by Galveston County Sheriff’s Office deputies into the jury assembly room for a change of venue hearing at the Galveston County Courthouse in Galveston, Texas. Attorneys representing the teenager charged in a school shooting last year at a Texas high school are seeking a mental evaluation, saying their client cannot understand the legal proceedings against him. Pagourtzis is charged with capital murder for the May 2018 attack at Santa Fe High School that left 10 people dead and wounded more than a dozen others. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP, Pool, File)
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Attorneys representing a teenager charged in a school shooting last year at a Texas high school are seeking a mental evaluation, saying their client cannot understand the legal proceedings against him.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis is charged with capital murder for the May 2018 attack at Santa Fe High School that left 10 people dead and wounded more than a dozen others. The 18-year-old is currently awaiting trial, which a judge has moved to another county because of intense publicity surrounding the case.
According to the Galveston County Daily News , Pagourtzis’ attorneys argued in a court filing Monday that the teenager’s mental state “has degraded to the point where there is no understanding of the matter and the proceedings.”
The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment Monday on the motion.
© Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
