(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — A judge sided with defense lawyers on Thursday and is instructing jurors to completely disregard the testimony of a key prosecution witness in the trial of former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales.
Former teacher Stephanie Hale briefly returned to the witness stand for an hour Thursday morning in an effort to salvage her testimony, but defense lawyers ultimately argued that allowing her testimony to stand would endanger Gonzales’ right to a fair trial.
Gonzales, who was one of nearly 400 law enforcement officers to respond to the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in 2022, is charged with 29 counts of child endangerment for allegedly ignoring his training during the botched police response.
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty. His legal team says he did all he could to help students and maintains he’s being scapegoated.
If convicted on all counts, Gonzales could spend the rest of his life in prison.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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