NUECES COUNTY, Texas (Nexstar) — The opening day of the first criminal trial related to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas ended with unresolved questions about the testimony of a teacher at the school and the judge telling the jury to take a day off.
Adrian Gonzales faces 29 counts of child endangerment and abandonment for his role in the police response that day. Gonzales is a former police officer with the Uvalde schools police department and was one of the first officers to respond to the shooting on May 24, 2022.
The indictment of Gonzales alleges that by not engaging the shooter, he put the children in danger.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Judge Sid Harle called a recess after defense attorneys raised questions about testimony from Stephanie Hale, who was a teacher at the school on the day of the shooting. Hale testified that she saw the gunman outside the south door of Robb Elementary. That was a location where Gonzales was also seen, which would bolster the prosecution’s argument that Gonzales knew where the shooter was and did not act.
The defense said that Hale’s testimony about seeing the gunman was different from information that she had previously given when interviewed by investigators.
With the jury outside of the courtroom, defense attorneys told the judge that prosecutors did not disclose information about Hale’s testimony before trial. They said that Tuesday was the first time they had heard about this information, which could be a violation of the law.
After a lengthy exchange between both sides, the judge called jurors back into the courtroom. He told the jury to take Wednesday off and return Thursday morning to give the court time to figure out a remedy. One remedy could be declaring a mistrial.
After the judge sent the jury home, lead defense attorney Nico LaHood spoke to reporters outside the courthouse. One reporter asked if he would ask for a mistrial.
“It’s a remedy allowed by law and we’re not saying that we’re going to take that remedy or not or argue for that remedy or not,” LaHood said. “The judge has that available to him.”
Nearly 400 law enforcement officers responded to the shooting. Law enforcement did not engage the gunman while he was in connected classrooms for more than a hour before being shot and killed.
Testimony started Tuesday morning. Jury selection concluded Monday evening. Over 12 hours, the court cycled through nearly 450 potential jurors until they whittled it down to 12 jurors and four alternates. Presiding Judge Sid Harle said it should take about two weeks to get through the evidence in this case.
Victims’ family members were expected to make the three-hour drive from Uvalde to Corpus Christi to be in the court room throughout the proceeding.