Grand Jury Begins Probe in Deputy’s Fatal Shooting : Hearing: It’s unclear if Brian Scanlan, the training officer who shot Darryn Robins, will testify. A tight lid is kept on proceedings.

The Orange County Grand Jury began hearing testimony Wednesday on the politically volatile Christmas Day shooting death of a sheriff’s deputy, as local prosecutors turned the case over to the panel to decide on possible criminal charges against a training officer.

Authorities kept a tight rein on the secret proceedings, refusing to say who was scheduled to appear or what issues would be addressed during the grand jury testimony.

“The hearings are in progress. Period,” said Assistant Dist. Atty. John Conley, who is overseeing the case.

But one thing was clear: Brian Scanlan, the training officer who authorities say fatally shot 30-year-old Deputy Darryn Leroy Robins during an impromptu training session behind a Lake Forest movie theater, was nowhere to be seen at the grand jury room.

It was unclear when or whether he may testify. Scanlan’s attorney, James Stotler of Santa Ana, would not comment on the issue Wednesday, an aide said, and Scanlan himself has declined to talk about the case. He is on leave from his job pending the outcome of the case.

Authorities say Robins may have been playing the part of a driver pulled over in a “hot car” stop when Scanlan, 32, shot him accidentally. While sheriff’s officials say an informal and unscheduled training session is not unusual, they have acknowledged that the use of a loaded weapon during the session did appear to violate several department training policies.

The grand jury, made up of 19 members, is expected to hear sworn testimony on training procedures and forensics issues, along with details of the shooting from investigators on the scene. Sheriff Brad Gates, who has been criticized by some civic groups for his department’s handling of the case, is not expected to testify, officials said.

Conley said the grand jury will subpoena most of the witnesses from whom it wants to hear testimony. “That’s routine. . . . You can’t take the risk that someone might change their mind about appearing. It’s kind of like a party--people say they’ll be there, and then they don’t show, even the most friendly witnesses,” he said.

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The panel will continue its work today, with Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick King assigned to question witnesses before the group. Twelve grand jurors would ultimately have to vote to indict Scanlan if he were to be prosecuted in Robins’ death.

While Conley said that it is “tough to predict” how long the grand jury probe may last, he said he expected a decision on the filing of charges by the end of this month. “I can’t conceive of it taking any longer than that,” he said.

Authorities originally predicted at the time of the shooting that they would make a decision on whether to file charges against Scanlan by the end of January.

The delay has only fueled attacks from minority groups about the handling of the investigation, but many of these critics said they welcomed the district attorney’s decision two weeks ago to turn the case over to the grand jury.

The tactical move followed repeated calls from minority groups for an independent investigation into the shooting, and it appeared to offer prosecutors the chance to distance themselves from the ultimate decision on Scanlan’s criminal liability in the case.