The newly hired private defense attorneys for Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, filed a motion Wednesday requesting that he be held separate from the general population in the Barrow County Detention Center.
Colin Gray, 54, is being held there without bond on multiple charges, including four counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of murder in the second degree. The father’s charges stem from his 14-year-old son’s suspected shooting spree at the high school where he was a student in Winder. Colt Gray is accused of killing two teachers and two students, as well as injuring nine others.
According to GBI Director Chris Hosey, Colin Gray’s charges are directly connected to the fact that he allegedly allowed his son to possess the gun used in the shooting.
In the motion filed by Gray’s attorneys, Brian Hobbs and Jimmy Berry, they expressed concerns over their client’s safety within the county’s detention center.
The motion describes how “nearly every resident of this community” has been affected by the tragic killings, and that public perception, fueled especially by social media, has led to an “incalculable” number of threats against Gray.
“(It) would be reckless to assume there are NO inmates, either currently or in the near future, being housed in the Barrow County Detention Center, who wish harm to the defendant,” the motion says.
The legal filing concludes by asking that the court order the sheriff’s office to keep Gray separate from all other defendants, though it does not make any requests or suggestions about how that should be fulfilled.
This is the first motion filed by Gray’s privately hired legal team. Previously, he was represented by a Barrow public defender. He appeared in court alongside his son Friday for their first appearances, at which their attorneys did not seek bail for either defendant.
About the Author
