The father of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect was granted bond Tuesday after his attorneys made the request for a hearing last week.
Colin Gray was granted a $500,000 bond by Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm in a courtroom packed with family and friends of the school shooting victims. Primm ordered 10% to be paid in cash and no contact with witnesses.
Prosecutors had asked for a bond of more than $1 million. Gray has been held at the Barrow County Adult Detention Center since September.
“This case is an open sore. It’s a wound that continues to hurt the community. While in court, Mr. Gray is presumed innocent, in the court of public opinion he bears a scarlet letter,” Primm said before granting bond.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Gray is expected to live with his sister in Cherokee County, if he makes bail. Primm said he has seen no evidence about Gray potentially fleeing, being a danger to the community, committing a felony or intimidating witnesses.
This was the first court appearance by Colin Gray since his first appearance in court shortly after his September arrest. He didn’t join his lawyers in court in November when they entered a not guilty plea and waived his arraignment.
He is facing 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, five counts of reckless conduct and 20 counts of child cruelty after prosecutors say he knowingly allowed his 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, to possess a gun. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
The teenager is charged in the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School that left two students —Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn — and two teachers — Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall — dead. Nine others were injured.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Breanna Schermerhorn, Mason’s mother, gave a victim statement to the court asking Judge Primm not to set bond for Colin Gray.
“I feel the sheer irresponsibility of Mr. Gray as a parent robbed my family of the chance to raise my son,” Schermerhorn said in an emotional statement.
Schermerhorn described her son as an “amazing son, brother and friend” who loved unconditionally and had a bright future ahead of him.
Richard Aspinwall’s father, also named Richard, gave a victim statement as well, telling Primm how devastating for his family it has been to lose his son.
The prosecution of Colin Gray is believed to be the first of its kind in Georgia and only the second nationally, after the parents of a Michigan school shooter were convicted of involuntary manslaughter. In both cases, the parents were accused of ignoring warning signs that their children could be capable of violence and allowing the children access to guns.
According to the indictment, Colin Gray allowed his son, Colt Gray, “access to a firearm and ammunition after receiving sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and endanger the bodily safety of another” and caused “with criminal negligence” the death of the four victims.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
During a preliminary hearing in October, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents testified that Colin Gray had purchased a SIG Sauer M400, which was used in the shooting, and gave it to his son for Christmas in 2023. He later bought his son a tactical vest, ammunition and sights for the weapon and larger-capacity magazines for the rifle at his son’s request.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Colt Gray was indicted on 55 charges including felony murder, malice murder, aggravated battery, cruelty to children in the first degree and aggravated assault. He pleaded not guilty, waived arraignment and did not appear in court in November.
An investigation revealed Colt Gray brought the gun into the school inside his bookbag. The backpack couldn’t conceal the full weapon so Gray used a rolled up poster board to cover the rest, which investigators said made it appear like he was simply transporting a school project.
The teen’s attorneys, along with prosecutors and Judge Primm held a scheduling status conference over Zoom last Thursday in which they all agreed to delay the case from its planned February jury trial, saying the case wouldn’t be ready in time. They also agreed that the case will be removed from the court’s regularly scheduled rotating trial calendar and that Colt Gray’s trial will be specially set by the court.
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