Fort Bliss soldier gets 6 years, dishonorable discharge after assaulting 3-year-old son

FORT BLISS, TEXAS — A Fort Bliss soldier who was seen repeatedly punching his 3-year-old son during a party in El Paso, Texas, was sentenced to six years in prison and a dishonorable discharge after pleading guilty to multiple offenses.

Spc. Baltazar E. Gonzalez, 27, pleaded guilty to domestic violence during his trial Aug. 12 at the Col. Hubert Miller Courtroom. He also pleaded guilty to the wrongful use of cocaine, drunken operation of a vehicle, and assaulting a civilian law enforcement officer. A military judge imposed the six-year sentence and ordered Gonzalez a dishonorable discharged from the Army.

The domestic violence charge stemmed from an incident Feb. 17, 2025, when Gonzalez attended a party at a private residence in El Paso. A witness observed him repeatedly punching his young son in the head and chest while outside in the home’s driveway.

Officers with the El Paso Police Department responded to a 911 call and arrested Gonzalez. Paramedics took the child to a local hospital, where he remained for two days. El Paso Police were also able to obtain security camera footage from a neighbor that captured the assault.

After discussions between the county prosecutor’s office and the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, the Army took the lead in prosecuting Gonzalez for all known on-post and off-post offenses, including a charge of wrongful use of cocaine detected during a unit urinalysis on Jan. 7, 2025, according to officials.

Once the case was transferred to the Office of Special Trial Counsel, Gonzalez was released from jail and his command restricted him to Fort Bliss. Authorities said he violated those conditions March 9, 2025, when he left post and was pulled over by an El Paso police officer on suspicion of drunk driving. During the traffic stop, Gonzalez became confrontational, assaulted the officer and was arrested.

During the sentencing phase, prosecutors presented expert testimony from a board-certified child abuse pediatrician who reviewed the security camera footage and described the potential for lethal harm in the assault on the child.

“This positive result is the product of over a year of effective collaboration between military and civilian law enforcement agencies and military and civilian prosecution teams,” Maj. Joshua Storm, prosecutor, Fifth Circuit, Army OSTC said. “Although no court-martial sentence can undo the harm of domestic violence, the sentence imposed is an important step in securing justice for Spc. Gonzalez’s child.”

“This sentencing brings accountability to Spc. Gonzalez’s actions,” Special Agent in Charge Olga Morales of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division Southwest Field Office said. “His senseless attack on a defenseless child represents a grave violation of the professional ethics and values that define the U.S. Army.”

Gonzalez, an ammunition specialist assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, is being held at Otero County Detention Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico, awaiting orders to be transferred to a military corrections facility.

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