A judge overseeing the trial of former Robb Elementary school police officer Adrian Gonzales paused witness testimony on Tuesday and told jurors not to return on Wednesday while he meets with both sides to resolve disputed testimony and disclosure issues.
Judge Sid Harle said he would convene prosecutors and defense counsel to address questions about testimony given by a witness on the trial's opening day. The defense contends prosecutors failed to disclose a witness statement ahead of trial, raising the prospect of a Brady violation — the withholding of material evidence that must be shared with the defense.
Key Developments From Opening Day
Gonzales, 52, the first law-enforcement officer to arrive at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022, has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child endangerment or abandonment. Nineteen students and two adults were killed in the shooting; the law enforcement response has been widely criticized as an "abject failure." The trial was moved from Uvalde to Corpus Christi at the defense's request.
Former teacher Stephanie Hale testified that she saw the gunman approaching the school and described frantic efforts to protect students: teachers secured a door with an extension cord and prepared to defend the room, and many children picked up safety scissors. On cross-examination, the defense questioned whether Hale's courtroom statements differed from earlier accounts to investigators.
Outside the jury's presence, Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell — the prosecutor on the case — was sworn and acknowledged she, too, was surprised by Hale's testimony. Judge Harle said he will meet with counsel to determine possible remedies, which could range from limiting use of the testimony to other sanctions; the judge did not immediately impose a remedy.
Emotional Testimony and Competing Narratives
Jurors heard a recorded 911 call from Gilbert Limones, who worked at a funeral home across the street, in which he pleaded for help as he described seeing the shooter and hearing gunfire. The courtroom was visibly emotional as Limones' recording and other testimony were played.
Special prosecutor Bill Turner told jurors that the day began as a celebration and that Gonzales was directed by a coach toward the shooter, arguing there was not confusion about the suspect's location. Defense attorney Jason Goss countered in his opening statement that Gonzales was reacting to reports of a vehicle crash involving a man with a gun and that there was substantial confusion at the scene. Goss said Gonzales "did the best he could with what he knew at the time," and emphasized that the shooter — who was later killed by Border Patrol officers — was solely responsible for the massacre.
Legal Arguments and Evidence Battles
Before jurors entered, the defense objected to showing autopsy photographs of the children and to prosecutors referring to those children as Gonzales' "victims" before a conviction. The judge barred autopsy photos during opening statements and ruled the students, at this stage, should be referred to as victims of the gunman rather than of Gonzales; he left the door open to revisit those rulings later in the trial.
Prosecutors say Gonzales was advised of the shooter's general location and had time to act but did not engage, distract or delay the attacker before the shooter entered classrooms. Two of the counts were read aloud with the names of 29 students — 19 killed and 10 survivors — recited in court.
Broader Context
The prosecution of an on-duty officer for actions during a school shooting is rare. The only comparable recent case involved former resource officer Scot Peterson, who was tried and acquitted following the 2018 Parkland, Florida, massacre. A conviction in Gonzales' case could shape expectations and policy about how officers are held accountable for responses to active-shooter incidents.
Separately, former Uvalde CISD police chief Pete Arredondo — Gonzales' one-time supervisor — has been indicted on charges tied to the delay in stopping the shooter; he has pleaded not guilty and no trial date has been set. Investigations and reporting have focused on the roughly 77 minutes it took for law enforcement to stop the gunman.
Reporters on this story included Shimon Prokupecz and Matthew J. Friedman in Corpus Christi, and Rachel Clarke in Atlanta. The judge's conference with counsel is expected to determine whether remedies or additional procedural steps are necessary before testimony resumes.
