Attorneys Want Mental Exam For Teen Charged In Texas School Shooting
GALVESTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — They say their client can't understand the legal proceedings against him, now attorneys for the teen charged in last year's school shooting at Santa Fe High is asking the court for a mental evaluation.
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 moved from Galveston County to Fort Bend 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."
Experts say if Pagourtzis is judged incompetent, he may be transferred to a state mental health facility to receive treatment before being reevaluated months later.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)