CENTENNIAL, Colo.—The new judge in the Colorado theater shooting case is a former Denver prosecutor who’s been on the bench for six years.
Carlos Samour (SA’-more) took over the case Monday shortly after the district attorney announced he was seeking death penalty against James Holmes. Judge William Sylvester, the district’s chief judge, said he could not oversee court operations and a complicated death penalty case.
Samour was born in El Salvador and moved to the United States when he was 13. He graduated from the University of Colorado in Denver with psychology degree before receiving his law degree from the University of Denver.
On his first day on the Holmes case, Samour has been engaging in fairly lively exchanges with attorneys, occasionally cracking a joke.
