SANTA FE, Texas – A defense motion to have Judge Jeth Jones disqualified from handling the Santa Fe mass shooting case was granted Monday afternoon, according to court documents.
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Last month, attorneys for the charged Santa Fe gunman, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, filed a motion to have Jones disqualified on the grounds that he had a prior connection to the case which prohibits him from presiding over the matter.
Defense attorneys argued that before Jones became a judge, he was law partners with an attorney who met with the accused shooter the day of the shooting. While that attorney, who is also now a judge, did not take the case, defense attorneys argued it was still enough of a connection to create a potential conflict for Jones.
“We’re pleased with Judge Brown’s ruling granting our Motion to Disqualify Judge Jones. Our foremost duty is to protect Mr. Pagourtzis’s constitutional right to a fair trial, should he ever be restored to competency, and today’s ruling will help us do that. Nobody is pleased with how long this case is taking, but even worse than a long case would be having to try it twice because a disqualified judge presided over it,” defense attorney Nick Poehl wrote in a statement to KPRC 2.
Family members received a notification from the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office stating that Judge Lonnie Cox will now preside over the case going forward. Family members sent a copy of that notification to KPRC 2.
“This afternoon, Judge Brown signed an order granting the Defendant’s Motion to Disqualify Judge Jones. She has assigned the case to Judge Lonnie Cox, in the 56th District Court. We’re disappointed to lose Judge Jones, but we believe that Judge Cox will handle the case fairly and efficiently. He is known for making decisive rulings that are fair to all parties, and he has for many years maintained the lowest docket caseload in Galveston County,” the notification from District Attorney Jack Roady read.
Pagourtzis is charged with killing 10 people at Santa Fe High School in 2018.
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Pagourtzis was first declared incompetent to stand trial in 2019. He was sent to North Texas State Hospital, where doctors have been attempting to restore his competency.
Until his competency is restored the case against Pagourtzis remains in limbo. This is why families of Santa Fe victims have pressured lawmakers for more than four years to pass a law that would grant them access to certain pieces of evidence.
“All our eggs are in this basket because I don’t see a future trial and if I do, it’s two to three years out,” said Scot Rice, whose wife, Flo, was critically wounded during the shooting.
However, different versions of this bill have now been passed by the House and the Senate. This means the measure will head to a conference committee to see if a consensus can be reached.
The bill was first filed by State Sen. Mayes Middleton and grants family members access to certain pieces of evidence, like autopsy reports and police body-cam video. The bill gives district attorneys the ability to require those viewing the evidence to sign non-disclosure agreements and prohibits any recording or duplication of the information.
Middleton’s bill was at first broad and included thousands of family members of crime victims. However, 11th-hour changes greatly narrowed the scope of the bill to essentially only include family members of Santa Fe victims. That version passed the Senate in April.
Over the weekend, the House passed a broader version of the bill, filed by State Rep. Greg Bonnen, and unless the Senate concurs with the House version, the final language of this bill will have to be hashed out in committee.
Rhonda Hart said this law is needed since the Santa Fe case is stalled.
“We’re at a dead end, we need to start thinking, ‘OK, what is our other option?’” said Hart.
Hart’s daughter, Kimberly Vaughan, was killed during the mass shooting. Hart said she wants to see her daughter’s autopsy report.
“It would let me know if Kimberly had passed quickly or if it was long and drawn out, that would really bring me some kind of peace and quiet,” said Hart.
Rice said he hopes the body cam video will provide more clarity on the sequence of events on the day of the shooting.
“Flo and Ann Perkins are the only two, besides Officer Barnes, that knows there’s video of them being shot. So it’s going to be hard to watch. But I think I need to see. And I think I need to process it beforehand,” said Rice. “Personally, I want to know how he got in, there’s so many rumors, people have said it happened this way, he got in that way. And I want to see it.”
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