AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The trials for the two former school police officers facing charges over the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, will be delayed, and one will be moved out of the city where the attack occurred, their lawyers said Tuesday.
Former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo and officer Adrian Gonzales have pleaded not guilty to dozens of counts of child endangerment and abandonment in connection with the massacre at Robb Elementary School. Both men were set to stand trial on Oct. 20.
Gonzales’ trial will be moved to a January start in Corpus Christi, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the school, attorney Nico LaHood said Tuesday. Judge Sid Harle confirmed the agreement for a change of venue for Gonzales, but said no formal order had been filed yet.
Arredondo’s trial is also on hold because of a pending federal lawsuit by local prosecutors that seeks to compel testimony from Border Patrol agents who were on the scene that day. The lawsuit seeks federal court help because a state court cannot compel the agents to testify on matters that relate to their official duties.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell did not respond to a request for comment.
Teenage gunman Salvador Ramos stormed into the school on May 24, 2022, killing 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. The attack is notorious also for the law enforcement response that saw more than 370 responding officers from several local, state and federal agencies wait more than an hour to confront and kill gunman Salvador Ramos.
Multiple reports from state and federal officials have laid bare cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers.
Arredondo and Gonzales are the only responding officers to face charges from that day. Only Gonzales sought to move his trial out of Uvalde, a city of about 15,000 people. Although both men were originally scheduled for trial the same day, they have separate legal teams
“We have reviewed all evidence provided to us, by the government, and we have not seen anything that supports the charges against Mr. Gonzales,” LaHood said.
Arredondo’s defense team wants to keep his trial in the city where the attack occurred.
“I think I’ve got a case that screams for a complete exoneration. I believe the people in Uvalde are going to be the most invested and determined to get to the bottom of the facts,” Arredondo’s attorney Paul Looney said.
Arredondo’s case has been held up by the federal lawsuit seeking testimony from the three U.S. Border Patrol agents, two of whom were part of the tactical team that killed Ramos.
That lawsuit claims the federal agents’ testimony could be vital to prosecuting Arredondo. His lawyers believe the testimony could be just as valuable in defending him. Arredondo, who has been identified as the on-scene incident commander that day, has long said he’s been scapegoated for law enforcement’s failures at the school.
The Border Patrol agents gave statements early in the state investigation into the shooting. In a court filing on Monday, the agency confirmed that it refused to allow the agents to testify before a grand jury or at trial.
Looney would not predict when Arredondo might go to trial.
“We don’t have any clue when we’ll be able to try that case. Border Patrol is trying to withhold critical witnesses,” Looney said.
By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press
