The trial is tentatively slated to begin in January, now more than 200 miles away from Uvalde. <\/p>\n
SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Two months after the attorney for an ex-Uvalde CISD officer charged in connection with the Robb Elementary School shooting response requested that his upcoming trial\u00a0be moved to elsewhere in Texas<\/a>, he got his wish: It will now be held in Nueces County, more than 200 miles away.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nico LaHood, who is representing Adrian Gonzales in his criminal case, and presiding Judge Sid Harle confirmed the agreement for a change of venue. LaHood had filed the motion<\/a> requesting the new location, saying he didn’t believe Gonzales could receive a fair trial in what’s expected to be highly visible court proceedings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUvalde is such a small community,” LaHood said. “I think everyone agrees this was an evil, horrible act that happened. But we needed a jury that could be as objective as possible and not so emotionally charged. So the judge chose Nueces County. We\u2019re happy with that. We\u2019re fine with that. We\u2019re prepared to try the case in Nueces County.\u201d<\/p>\n LaHood said the trial is tentatively slated to begin Jan. 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gonzales was indicted on 29 counts<\/a> of abandoning\/endangering a child in June 2024 \u2013 more than two years after 19 students and two teachers were killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary \u2013 while former Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo was indicted on 10 counts. They represent the first and so far only criminal cases<\/a> related to the tragedy that unfolded the morning of May 24, 2022, in the small South Texas community.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gonzales failed to engage the assailant after hearing gunshots and being informed of the shooter\u2019s general location, according to the indictment. He\u2019s also accused of failing to follow active shooter training.<\/p>\n “We have seen all the evidence that the government has turned over to us,” LaHood said. “And we have not seen any evidence that substantiates these allegations against Mr. Gonzales. The only remedy for that is to present that evidence and defend his position to a jury of his peers, so we’re looking forward to that.”<\/p>\n Arredondo was widely criticized for his role in what has been considered a failed law enforcement response<\/a> at Robb, where authorities waited over an hour to confront the shooter. The Texas Department of Public Safety said he was the incident commander at the scene and that he decided to treat the emergency as a “barricaded suspect” instead of an active hostage situation; Arredondo has said he didn’t think he was incident commander.<\/a><\/p>\n Arredondo was\u00a0fired from his role<\/a> as the district’s police chief in August 2022, amid mounting pressure from families of the victims calling for accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both men have pleaded not guilty<\/a>, and Arredondo’s legal team mounted an unsuccessful motion to quash his indictment last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The looming court case comes amid a wave of newly released records<\/a> related to the Robb tragedy–some of which show Arredondo’s legal team sought a $1.1 million settlement<\/a> when he was fired as well as disciplinary files for the gunman\u00a0<\/a>showing he failed state tests and had mounting school absences.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also among the records released this summer was\u00a0a letter\u00a0<\/a>sent to then-Uvalde CISD Superintendent Hal Harell by a Robb teacher who said she felt that staff at the elementary school at the heart of the tragedy were “being ignored” after the shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n The fresh records also came with some controversy when the law firm representing Uvalde CISD admitted it failed to properly release all the documents, saying it only shared a sample of what should have been made public. Less than a month later, the school board voted to hire new legal counsel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nUvalde gets new law firm, new school <\/p>\n