SAN ANTONIO – Moments after former Uvalde CISD police officer Adrian Gonzales was acquitted Wednesday on child endangerment charges, the attorney for Gonzales’ former boss said the verdict came as no surprise at all.
Paul Looney, the defense attorney for ex-Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo, told KSAT late Wednesday night that Gonzales’ verdict was not a surprise because he believes the law enforcement officers who responded on May 24, 2022, to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde did nothing wrong.
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Gonzales was acquitted on all 29 charges of child endangerment. The 29 charges represented the 29 children who were killed and injured in the shooting.
Arredondo, 53, is facing 10 child endangerment charges, a charge that is considered a state jail felony and punishable by a maximum of two years in a state jail upon conviction. The 10 charges represent the 10 children who were injured and survived the shooting.
Looney said he spoke with Arredondo after they learned of the jury’s verdict. He said his client was “emotional” because he believes in “his fellow officer (Gonzales).”
The impact of Wednesday’s verdict, according to Looney, could influence how the prosecution “sells this crap in the future,” specifically, in Arredondo’s pending case.
While Looney said he also expects Arredondo’s trial to be moved to Corpus Christi, an official start date is unknown due to ongoing litigation regarding potential witnesses between the Uvalde County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Border Patrol.
Nate Kotisso joined KSAT as a digital journalist in 2024. He previously worked as a newspaper reporter in the Rio Grande Valley for more than two years and spent nearly three years as a digital producer at the CBS station in Oklahoma City.
Daniela Ibarra joined the KSAT News team in July 2023. This isn’t her first time in the KSAT newsroom– the San Antonio native spent the summer of 2017 as an intern. Daniela is a proud Mean Green alum, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Texas.