This courtroom sketch shows James Holmes being escorted by a deputy as he arrives at preliminary hearing in district court in Centennial, Colo. Investigators say Holmes opened fire during the midnight showing of the latest Batman movie on July 20, killing 12 people and wounding dozens.CENTENNIAL, Colo. – A judge on Friday delayed the arraignment of the man charged with the Colorado theater shooting until March despite objections from prosecutors and most of the victims and their families.
District Judge William Sylvester ruled Thursday night that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence at a preliminary hearing to proceed toward trial on charges that James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 others at a suburban Denver movie theater on July 20.
Holmes, who is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder, won’t have to enter a plea until March 12 after the judge granted a defense motion to delay that proceeding.
A murmur of disbelief rippled through the courtroom when the defense said it wouldn’t be ready until March. Then, at the end of the hearing, the father of Rebecca Wingo, who was killed in the shooting, shouted “Rot in hell Holmes.”
The judge reconvened the proceeding to talk to Steve Hernandez, who apologized and promised there would be no more outbursts. The judge was sympathetic.