CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Family members of Jackie Cazares, a 9-year-old killed in the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, shared their frustrations with the Uvalde County District Attorney’s Office Wednesday before the state and defense team gathered for a hearing in the trial of an ex-Uvalde school district police officer.
Cazares’ relatives — aunt Juanita Cazares Rizo, uncle Jesse Rizo, aunt/godmother Julissa Rizo and uncle/godfather Manuel Rizo — stood outside the courthouse approximately 15 minutes before the hearing in Corpus Christi began.
“We shouldn’t be standing here,” Julissa Rizo said. “Jackie (Cazares) should be here today. She should be turning 13 years old. ... We want justice, not just for Jackie, but for (the other) 18 children and two teachers.”
Presiding Judge Sid Harle called Wednesday’s hearing without the presence of jurors after the defense team of ex-Uvalde CISD police officer Adrian Gonzales noted an inconsistency between former Robb Elementary School teacher Stephanie Hale’s testimony to the Texas Rangers four days after the shooting and Hale’s testimony in court on Tuesday afternoon.
The defense accused the prosecution of withholding or failing to disclose information to them. Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell took exception to the defense’s accusation.
During the Wednesday hearing, the defense asked Harle to declare a mistrial, which he denied.
“We are very disappointed in the (Uvalde County) DA (Christina Mitchell),” Manuel Rizo said Wednesday before the hearing, in part. “Just learning what we learned yesterday — it caught us, again, by surprise, you know? I mean, if there was one word that I could say about their team (Uvalde County DA’s Office), is ‘incompetent.’"
“100%,” Julissa Rizo said while nodding in agreement.
“It’s hard to remain positive. It really is,” Manuel Rizo continued, in part. “We have a lot of anxiety. We’re concerned, but we can’t give up. We’re hoping for the best.”
Jesse Rizo remarked on defense attorney Nico LaHood referring to the Robb Elementary School shooter as a “monster” during Tuesday’s proceedings.
“We all know who the ‘monster’ was,” Jesse Rizo said. “There’s no disputing that the ‘monster’ was the shooter. ... But there’s also another ‘monster’: that ‘monster’ was Mr. Adrian Gonzales. Adrian Gonzales had every opportunity to go in and do something, but what did he do? The lack of an action. That’s a ‘monster’ action there.”
According to Manuel Rizo, the Uvalde County DA’s Office advised the Rizo family to not communicate with reporters during Gonzales’ trial.
“Very disappointed in that, and here’s the reason why,” Manuel Rizo said. “Because yesterday (Tuesday), the defense team was meeting with you all (reporters). Did they (the prosecution) say anything to you all (about that)? Nothing, right? They failed us in Uvalde, and here we are again.”
“And they want us to keep quiet,” Julissa Rizo said. “Impossible.”
After Harle denied the mistrial Wednesday, Jesse Rizo shared his reaction with KSAT in a text message.
“Feeling confident that justice will be served,” Jesse Rizo said in the text. “May be a bit bumpy at times, but we must move forward.”
More coverage of the Adrian Gonzales trial on KSAT: