Two former Uvalde CISD officers appeared in court Monday on charges related to the failed response during the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Back in July, Adrian Gonzales pleaded not guilty to child endangerment charges. Gonzales was there Monday for a pretrial hearing, similar to the July proceedings. His next hearing was set for Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. at the Uvalde County Justice Center.
Earlier this summer, Gonzales was indicted on 29 felony counts of abandoning and endangering a child. He is accused of having failed to follow active shooter training and avoiding the Robb gunman after hearing gunshots during the mass shooting on May 24, 2022. Gonzales has since pleaded not guilty and his lead attorney, Nico LaHood, argues his client is innocent.
He says Gonzales should not be singled out among the nearly 400 officers who responded to Robb Elementary.
Some of the victims' families, however, believe he should be held accountable.
"All I have to say is he should have been the man that (he) wasn't on that day today, and plead guilty," said Javier Cazares, the father of Jackie Cazares, one of the shooting victims.
"He feels he's innocent, he feels all he did was show up to try and help those children," said LaHood.
Meanwhile, former Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo was also in court Monday. Arredondo is trying to have all 10 of his child endangerment charges tossed out.
Earlier this month, his lawyers claimed the indictment failed to allege an offense, arguing the victims were already in danger when Arredondo responded.
Attorneys for both defendants, in addition to the state, are still in the process of gathering evidence.
“There’s a 3,500-page report, just the report alone, not to mention all the other evidence. Some of it obviously we’re not looking forward to, but we have to," LaHood said. "We don’t have any of it yet. It’s just going to be a long, long process to get through all of it."
For many victims' families, this was their first time seeing Arredondo in person.
Jesse Rizo, uncle of Robb victim Jackie Cazares, was among the dozens of family members who packed the small courtroom.
“Coming head to head with Arredondo, seeing him outside as I was walking inside, was nerve-racking. It was very emotional. We locked eyes," Rizo said.
Ruben Torres, father of Robb survivor Khloie Torres, expressed frustration with the entire legal process.
“Pete Arredondo’s attorneys and then Adrian Gonzales’ attorneys, they’re just going to prolong as long as they can," Torres said.
Arredondo's next hearing was also set for Dec. 19 at the Uvalde County Justice Center. If convicted, his maximum punishment would be 20 years in prison.
Gonzales could also face jail time if found guilty.