CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After emotional testimony Tuesday morning, a hearing without the presence of jurors hours later casted doubt into the future of a former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officer’s criminal trial.
The Tuesday hearing caused presiding Judge Sid Harle to block off Wednesday afternoon for another state-defense hearing without the presence of the jury in Day 2 of Adrian Gonzales‘ trial.
On Wednesday, the defense asked Harle to declare a mistrial. The judge denied the defense’s request.
During the Tuesday hearing, co-defense attorney Jason Goss noted a discrepancy that the state did not note 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.
Goss accused the prosecution of withholding or failing to disclose information from the defense.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell took exception to Goss’ accusation.
“You know, you’re getting very nitpicky,” Mitchell said in Tuesday’s hearing. “Let me tell you something: when you were prepping for (these) witnesses, I was running a law office. And so, I was in and out of interviews. So, I can’t say that she said that, and I (went), ‘Oh my God,’ you know? It wasn’t that type of reaction for me. That’s the best I can say.”
Because the location of the suspect was a part of other witnesses’ testimony, Mitchell suggested Hale didn’t have to disclose to the defense where she saw the shooter.
“I would agree that that was already known, that that was out there,” Mitchell said. “I don’t understand why it was a surprise to you (the defense).”
“Because you didn’t report it when she told you, though. That’s why,” Goss said, in part. “I think you will agree with me that has not been turned over by your office in any shape or form before.”
“I would agree with you that I asked you (the defense) to come to my office and review our file,” Mitchell said. “That was on the record. I said, ‘I want y’all to come look through our complete file to make sure that you have everything.’ And that was agreed to, but I was never contacted. So, I did make our file available on the record before trial.”
Watch Adrian Gonzales’ defense team discuss the events of Day 1 in the video player below.
Due to his response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Gonzales has been accused and charged with endangering the lives of 29 children on May 24, 2022.
A complete timeline of events from Tuesday’s court proceedings can be found here.
Jurors are expected back in the courtroom at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Background
Gonzales, 52, is one of two now-former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officers charged with child endangerment regarding the law enforcement response to the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. Gonzales is facing 29 child endangerment charges: 19 represent the children killed in the shooting, and the other 10 represent the children injured in the shooting.
An 18-year-old gunman also killed two teachers at the school on May 24, 2022.
The other officer, former Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo, has yet to go to trial in his child endangerment case. Arredondo is facing 10 child endangerment charges.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell is prosecuting the Gonzales case, but she appointed Bill Turner as special prosecutor. Turner was the former district attorney in Brazos County.
San Antonio-area attorney and former Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood leads Gonzales’ defense team. The team is rounded out by fellow attorneys Jason Goss and Gary Hillier.
In August 2025, Gonzales requested a venue change for the trial.
In the motion, Gonzales’ defense team argued that he cannot receive a fair trial by a jury in Uvalde County due to the impact the massacre had on members of the community.
“This horrific tragedy touched every member of the Uvalde community,” LaHood said at the time. “It would be impossible to gather a jury that would not view the evidence through their own pain and grief.”
In October 2025, LaHood confirmed to KSAT that the trial venue was changed from Uvalde County to Nueces County.
The state is expected to call approximately 60 witnesses to the stand. Court records indicate some of those asked to be witnesses include the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, officers from other responding law enforcement agencies, medical personnel and some parents of school shooting victims.
Child endangerment charges are considered a state jail felony. Upon a potential conviction, Gonzales could be sentenced between six months and two years in a state jail.
Judge Sid Harle is the presiding judge in this case. If convicted, Gonzales also elected to have Harle determine his sentence instead of the jury.
More coverage of the Adrian Gonzales trial on KSAT: