SAN ANTONIO – A man who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a fatal shooting over a dog petting argument had his conviction overturned by an appeals court Tuesday, according to records obtained by KSAT.
Jordan Eaton fatally shot Valentin Gonzales IV, 28, during a confrontation in an apartment complex in December 2021, which was partially captured on video.
Eaton was 18 years old at the time of the shooting. Though he argued he shot in self-defense, a jury found Eaton guilty of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2024.
The Fourth Court of Appeals reversed Eaton’s convictions and remanded the case for a new trial due to evidence it ruled should not have been admitted.
Brittany Gonzales, Valentin’s wife, told KSAT she “still can’t fathom” the appeal being granted.
Gonzales’ father, Valentin Gonzales III, told KSAT he found out about the decision Tuesday afternoon.
“I thought it was over and done and you, know done with,’ he said.
KSAT asked Gonzales III what he would say to Eaton.
“Honestly, I would just let him take his medicine, you know,” said Gonzales III. He know what he did. I mean why, why, why keep fighting it?”
Valentin Gonzales’ mother, Cynthia Garza, told KSAT the district attorney’s office did not alert her about an appeal being granted.
Garza sent the following statement to KSAT:
“First of all I am very upset that I had to hear from KSAT news that my son’s murder was given an appeal and no one has notified me or any of my family members about this I feel that they should have not giving him the appeal because he shot and killed my son his just because his wife was petting his dog in out of spite Jordan took out a gun and shot at my daughter-in-law and in that case that’s when my son was seeing this and went to defend his wife Jordan just didn’t just shoot him one time he shot him more than one time this man has destroyed my life and the life of my grandbabies and to her full thought that they have to live with the fact that they saw their dad get shot all five of them seen this they have bad dreams and nightmares about the situation still to this day and they cry pretty much almost every every day I hope he stays with the sentence that they have given them they should have given them more years than what he actually originally got thank you sincerely Cynthia Garza”
KSAT reached out to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office and the San Antonio Police Department on Tuesday afternoon for their responses to the conviction being overturned.
Case background
On Dec. 30, 2021, Eaton testified at trial that he took his puppy to the courtyard of his apartment complex. Both Valentin and and his wife, Brittany Gonzales were also in the courtyard, the court documents show, when Brittany Gonzales began petting the puppy.
“Eaton told her to stop,” court documents say, and Eaton and Valentin Gonzales can be heard arguing in video captured of the interaction.
As the argument escalated, Eaton pulled out a handgun and fired one shot at Brittany Gonzales before engaging in a struggle with her husband and firing at him, according to court documents.
Derek Sherrod, who was at the scene, approached Eaton, but their conversation was not captured on video. At the end of the recording, court documents say Sherrod could be seen taking Eaton’s handgun and walking out of the courtyard.
Statements about Derek Sherrod
During the investigation, a San Antonio police detective testified that Eaton had allegedly pulled a gun on Sherrod two days before the murder because “Derek’s dog charged” at Eaton, the court document states.
Eaton objected, arguing that the testimony violated his constitutional right to confront witnesses. The court allowed the testimony, but the document states Eaton denied pulling the gun on Sherrod and said Sherrod was lying.
On appeal, the document states the court agreed with Eaton, ruling that the detective’s statement was hearsay and should not have been admitted. The document says the detective’s testimony was brief and not damaging, pointing to video evidence showing Sherrod was not afraid of Eaton.
However, according to the document, the court found the testimony could have influenced the jury’s view of Eaton as the first aggressor, which may have affected their assessment of the events.
Ultimately, the appeals court sustained the issue, siding with Eaton on the argument.
Admission of custody video
The prosecution showed a six-second custody video of Eaton in handcuffs and a jail jumpsuit being escorted by police after his arrest. According to court documents, when asked by a reporter in the video why he shot Valentin Gonzales, Eaton replied, “self-defense.”
Eaton argued the video was “unfairly prejudicial” and should not have been shown, according to court documents.
The court conceded the video should not have been admitted as it violated Texas law, which generally prohibits showing a defendant in restraints unless there is a compelling reason, but maintained the error was harmless.
The appeals court found the video was not harmless, as it was replayed during deliberations and referenced in closing arguments to portray Eaton as smug and unremorseful.
Overruled issues
Eaton also made two other arguments that were ultimately overruled by the appeals court.
In his first complaint, he argued the trial court erred in overruling his objection to the inclusion of the paragraph on defense of third person.
However, the state disagreed, citing the 1986 Texas Court of Criminal Appeals case Bennett v. State. In Bennett, the court ruled that the deceased can be considered a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue, allowing the jury to consider defense of a third person.
Eaton argued in his second issue that Brittany Gonzales’ testimony showed proof her husband “had a character trait for violence,” but the state objected to the testimony as “not constituting a habit.”
“Before the jury, Brittany acknowledged that she had told a defense investigator that Valentin was a fighter and that he never backed down,” court documents said.
Outside the jury’s presence, Brittany Gonzales told an investigator that her husband had been stabbed and shot before his fatal interaction with Eaton, noting he “was a fighter since middle school,” court documents show.
The appeals court upheld the exclusion, deeming the evidence not relevant to the specific case.