AURORA — A team of four from the state Public Defender’s Office spent 45 minutes Wednesday afternoon combing through the apartment of their client, accused theater shooter James Eagan Holmes.
They arrived about 1:10 p.m. led by the chief trial deputy Daniel King, and stayed until 1:55 p.m. The team wore latex gloves and shoe covers while inside the three story building.
While in apartment No. 10 at 1690 Paris St. in Aurora, they used handheld video cameras to film the scene and paid close attention to windows broken out by police when they defused explosives inside.
They also spent examining the books on Holmes’ shelf, but didn’t appear to handle them.
According to Dan Recht, a criminal defense attorney for 30 years who is not involved in the theater shooting case, the defense team most likely did not have an agenda for this visit.
“You go in with an open mind to see what you can see,” Recht said.
The defense team was accompanied by two Aurora police detectives who exited the apartment with full manila-colored envelopes that were empty when they entered.
King would not comment when he left the apartment.
Members of the team also filmed the outside of the apartment unit, including the broken glass in the parking lot from Holmes’ windows.
Recht said it was appropriate that the defense team didn’t bring other specialists along for the initial visit.
“You don’t want forensics or others for the first visit,” he said. “You just want to get a sense of who your client is.”
Holmes was arrested early Friday after a gunman in body armor opened fire in a packed theater in Aurora during a premiere of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises.” The rampage left 12 dead and 58 wounded.
After his arrest, Holmes reportedly told police there were explosives in his apartment.
Recht said at this point, he believes the defense team has to concentrate on Holmes’ mental condition.
“They have no doubt he was the shooter, so now they have to look for signs of mental illness, such as deranged writings or drawings, and the cleanliness of the house,” Recht said.
Holmes, 24, was in the process of dropping out of a graduate program in neuroscience at the University of Colorado Denver. He is being held without bond at the Arapahoe County Jail, with charges expected to be filed on Monday.
Prosecutors examined the apartment Tuesday afternoon. Recht said they were able to look at the area first because Holmes’ unit is a separate crime scene due to the bombs placed inside.
“If it had just been his home, prosecutors and law mostly likely wouldn’t even have access to it,” Recht said.
Ryan Parker: rparker@denverpost.com, 303-954-3804, twitter.com/ryanparkerdp