[h=3]By DONNA BRYSON[/h]CENTENNIAL, Colo.—The police officers who apprehended the suspect in a murder spree at a Colorado cinema last summer testified Monday that he was eerily calm and emotionally detached as he stood outside the theater clad in full body armor, chaos swirling around him.
The testimony by the Aurora police officers came at the start of a preliminary hearing Monday outlining the case against James Holmes, the former University of Colorado graduate student accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 others at the screening of the latest Batman movie shortly after midnight on July 20.
Associated PressPolice described James E. Holmes, shown in July, as "very relaxed" as he stood outside a theater in Aurora, Colo., clad in full body armor.
Chief Judge William Sylvester set aside at least five days for the preliminary hearing, during which the prosecution is expected to lay out its strategy and evidence in order to convince the judge their case is strong enough to go to a full trial.
The initial testimony immediately touched on one of the central issues in the case: whether Mr. Holmes was mentally ill at the time of the shooting, and if so, whether he is fit to stand trial.
Jason Oviatt, an Aurora policeman, testified that he was at a routine traffic stop when he received an alert that there had been an incident at the movie theater. He rushed to the scene and ran along the side of the theater with his handgun drawn, following a trail of blood, when he saw a man in full body armor standing alongside a white car.
Mr. Oviatt initially believed the man was a fellow officer, but as he drew closer he realized it was not. He pointed his gun at the man, whom he identified in court as Mr. Holmes. The suspect surrendered without incident, he said.
"He was completely compliant. There wasn't even normal tension in him," Mr. Oviatt testified. "He seemed very, very relaxed. It was like there weren't normal emotional responses to anything."
Another Aurora officer, Aaron Blue, testified that he reached Mr. Holmes almost at the same time after going through the blood-marked theater and emerging through a back door. Mr. Blue also said that Mr. Holmes appeared unusually detached as he was apprehended, but later alarmed officers when he appeared fidgety as he was being put into a police car.
Believing he might pose a threat to them, officers stripped him down to his underwear and asked him if he had additional weapons, Mr. Blue testified. Mr. Holmes said he didn't, but casually volunteered that he had rigged his apartment with explosive devices, the officer told the court.
Defense lawyers for Mr. Holmes immediately seized on the statements about the suspect's bizarre behavior. They attempted to get the officers to elaborate on how he had been acting, but didn't elicit much further detail.
Other officers were expected to testify later Monday in what is expected to be several days of testimony. Mr. Holmes sat at the defense table listening with little emotional response, clad in a jumpsuit but no longer in the bright reddish-orange haircut he had at the time of the shooting. His hair was brown, and neatly trimmed, with long sideburns.
About 40 family members of shooting victims and shooting survivors packed the Arapahoe County Justice Center, along with roughly 40 journalists. Many others were listening to an audio-video feed of the testimony from an adjacent room.
Prosecutors are likely to call scores of witnesses over the next week. The defense team also has indicated to the judge it may call witnesses.
The testimony by the Aurora police officers came at the start of a preliminary hearing Monday outlining the case against James Holmes, the former University of Colorado graduate student accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 others at the screening of the latest Batman movie shortly after midnight on July 20.
Associated PressPolice described James E. Holmes, shown in July, as "very relaxed" as he stood outside a theater in Aurora, Colo., clad in full body armor.
Chief Judge William Sylvester set aside at least five days for the preliminary hearing, during which the prosecution is expected to lay out its strategy and evidence in order to convince the judge their case is strong enough to go to a full trial.
The initial testimony immediately touched on one of the central issues in the case: whether Mr. Holmes was mentally ill at the time of the shooting, and if so, whether he is fit to stand trial.
Jason Oviatt, an Aurora policeman, testified that he was at a routine traffic stop when he received an alert that there had been an incident at the movie theater. He rushed to the scene and ran along the side of the theater with his handgun drawn, following a trail of blood, when he saw a man in full body armor standing alongside a white car.
Mr. Oviatt initially believed the man was a fellow officer, but as he drew closer he realized it was not. He pointed his gun at the man, whom he identified in court as Mr. Holmes. The suspect surrendered without incident, he said.
"He was completely compliant. There wasn't even normal tension in him," Mr. Oviatt testified. "He seemed very, very relaxed. It was like there weren't normal emotional responses to anything."
Another Aurora officer, Aaron Blue, testified that he reached Mr. Holmes almost at the same time after going through the blood-marked theater and emerging through a back door. Mr. Blue also said that Mr. Holmes appeared unusually detached as he was apprehended, but later alarmed officers when he appeared fidgety as he was being put into a police car.
Believing he might pose a threat to them, officers stripped him down to his underwear and asked him if he had additional weapons, Mr. Blue testified. Mr. Holmes said he didn't, but casually volunteered that he had rigged his apartment with explosive devices, the officer told the court.
Defense lawyers for Mr. Holmes immediately seized on the statements about the suspect's bizarre behavior. They attempted to get the officers to elaborate on how he had been acting, but didn't elicit much further detail.
Other officers were expected to testify later Monday in what is expected to be several days of testimony. Mr. Holmes sat at the defense table listening with little emotional response, clad in a jumpsuit but no longer in the bright reddish-orange haircut he had at the time of the shooting. His hair was brown, and neatly trimmed, with long sideburns.
About 40 family members of shooting victims and shooting survivors packed the Arapahoe County Justice Center, along with roughly 40 journalists. Many others were listening to an audio-video feed of the testimony from an adjacent room.
Prosecutors are likely to call scores of witnesses over the next week. The defense team also has indicated to the judge it may call witnesses.