Judge cancels Wednesday testimony in Uvalde cop trial as defense says prosecutors withheld evidence

By Shimon Prokupecz, Matthew J. Friedman and Rachel Clarke, CNN

Corpus Christi, Texas (CNN) — The judge overseeing the trial of a former school police officer accused of abandoning children during a massacre halted testimony on Tuesday and told jurors not to come to court on Wednesday.

Judge Sid Harle will instead address legal matters with lawyers for the prosecution and defense surrounding problematic testimony from a witness on the first day of trial.

Adrian Gonzales had been the first member of law enforcement to get to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, while the gunman was still outside. He is now the first law enforcement officer facing trial for the botched response to the shooting.

Nineteen students and two adults were killed in the attack, and law enforcement response to the massacre has been called an “abject failure.”

Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child endangerment or abandonment.

Stephanie Hale, a former elementary school teacher at Robb Elementary, testified Tuesday about where she saw the gunman approaching the school on May 24, 2022.

But defense attorney Jason Goss said that information had not been shared by the prosecution as required, leading him to complain the defense was undergoing a “trial by ambush.”

Holding back material during the “discovery process” could be a serious infraction known as a Brady violation.

In an unusual move, Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell, who is bringing the case against Gonzales, was sworn in and testified outside the jury’s presence that she, too, had been caught off-guard by Hale’s testimony.

Harle plans to meet with lawyers Wednesday to find a way forward, which could include relief for the defense.

Asked by CNN if he would seek a mistrial, defense attorney Nico LaHood demurred.

“It’s a remedy allowed by law. We’re not saying we’re going to take that remedy or not, or argue for that remedy or not yet.”

Here’s what else happened on the first day of trial:

• Children armed themselves with safety scissors, teacher testifies: Hale shared harrowing testimony, describing how she sprang into action when the shooting started. Hale brought her class inside from the playground when she heard gunfire, and said teachers tried to use an extension cord to secure their classroom door. Another teacher grabbed a pair of scissors, Hale said, adding the plan was “to fight if we need to.” When they eventually left the classroom and gathered in a parking lot outside, Hale said she noticed many of the children had also armed themselves with their own safety scissors – apparently mimicking the action of the teachers. “And I took all the scissors … Both of my back pockets were full of scissors,” she said. On cross-examination, defense attorney Jason Goss sought to discredit Hale’s testimony by asserting her statements Tuesday differed from past comments she’d provided investigators.

• Emotions high from the outset: Jurors wiped away tears as they listened to the first witness and his 911 call begging for help the day of the shooting. Gilbert Limones, who worked at a funeral home across the street, said he called police about a truck crashing in a ditch near Robb Elementary. He told them he was threatened by the gun-wielding driver before the gunman went to the school and opened fire there. “Oh my gosh, there’s kids out there! There’s kids out there, please,” he told the dispatcher in a recorded call played in court. “Hurry!” he cried, then pleading for God’s help. He made a second call when the gunman shot at children, saying he could hear the gunfire from across the street at the funeral home where he worked. “God, in the name of Jesus, he’s inside the school shooting at the kids!” he told police.

• Prosecutors dismiss claim of confusion at scene: Special prosecutor Bill Turner told jurors the day of the shooting started as a “day of celebration,” with the fourth-graders due to receive end-of-year certificates of achievement before a gunman walked on campus. When shots were fired, Gonzales was the first officer to arrive, Turner said. A coach, Melodye Flores, told Gonzales where to go. “Over there, he’s wearing black, he’s in the teacher parking lot,” Turner said Gonzales was told. “As shots are ringing out. This is not confusion.” Eventually, Gonzales reported on his police radio that he thought the shooter had made it into the building, the prosecutor said, at times choking up. “This isn’t confusion,” he said again. “Adrian Gonzales remains.”

• Defense places blame solely on shooter: Goss acknowledged Turner’s emotion in his own opening statement, calling the shooting “one of the worst things that ever happened in this country.” Still, he argued, “Adrian Gonzales did the best he could with what he knew at the time.” Goss said his client was responding to reports of a vehicle accident involving a man with a gun, not a school shooting, and he said there was much confusion at the scene. Additionally, he said, the only person responsible for the massacre was the gunman, who was killed by Border Patrol officers. “The monster who did this to these kids, the monster who hurt these children, is dead. He is dead. He doesn’t get this justice.”

• Former school cop faces 29 charges: Gonzales, now 52, has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child endangerment or abandonment. On Tuesday, he wore a dark gray suit with his hair slicked back. He stood as two of the counts were read aloud, alleging he had been advised of the shooter’s general location and had time to respond but failed to engage, distract or delay the shooter before he got into the classrooms. The names of 29 students – 19 killed and 10 survivors – were read aloud in court. The trial was moved from Uvalde to Corpus Christi, 200 miles away, after a defense request last year.

• Defense opposes displaying of autopsy photos: In legal motions before the jury was brought in, defense lawyers opposed the displaying of autopsy photographs of the dead children and calling them “victims” of Gonzales’ actions, unless and until he is proven guilty. The judge ruled the photos could not be used during opening statements, but the issue could be revisited later in the trial. The judge also ruled the students should only be called victims of the gunman for now. He reserved the right to exclude photos at a later time.

• A rare case of its kind: The trial is only the second prosecution of a police officer for their actions during a school shooting. Former school resource officer Scot Peterson was acquitted of wrongdoing after he stayed outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, while a gunman was inside, shooting 17 people dead and injuring 17 more in February 2018. Peterson’s lawyer said his client stayed outside because he could not tell where the shots were coming from. A guilty verdict in Gonzales’ case could influence how law enforcement is expected to respond to emergencies, particularly active shooters.

• Former chief also indicted: Federal and state investigations and media reports have generally focused on the 77 minutes it took for the gunman to be stopped by law enforcement. The shooter spent much of that time unchallenged in the two connected classrooms, amid dead, dying and traumatized children and adults. Gonzales’ one-time boss, former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, has been indicted on charges related to the delay. He has pleaded not guilty and a trial date has yet to be set.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz and Matthew J. Friedman reported from Corpus Christi, Texas, and Rachel Clarke wrote in Atlanta.