CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A criminal case against a former Uvalde school police officer has been transferred to Nueces County.
Defense attorney Nico LaHood, who is representing Adrian Gonzales, told KRIS 6 News on Tuesday that his client's case has been moved from Uvalde County. Gonzales, a former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officer, faces 19 counts of injury to a child stemming from the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
According to the indictment, Gonzales failed to engage the assailant after hearing gunshots and being informed of the shooter's general location. He's also accused of failing to follow active shooter training. Arredondo was widely criticized for his role in what has been considered a failed law enforcement response at Robb, where authorities waited over an hour to confront the shooter. LaHood told KRIS 6 News that Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
"We've looked at all the evidence the government has provided for us, and we have not seen evidence that substantiates or supports the allegations brought against Adrian," LaHood said. "And so the only remedy to that is to go to a jury."
The defense attorney said both sides agreed that a change of venue would be appropriate for the circumstances. While a hearing had been scheduled to determine whether to grant the change of venue, LaHood said the prosecution agreed to the transfer once the motion was filed, eliminating the need for a contested hearing.
"The government, before we had the contested hearing agreed that, yes, we're going to agree to a change of venue," LaHood explained. "And so the judge just had to decide where we were going to go."
The judge ultimately selected Nueces County as the new venue. LaHood emphasized that the primary purpose of the venue change is to ensure a fair trial.
"We want more of an objective jury and not so emotionally tied to that horrific event that happened."
The case will now proceed in Nueces County, where jury selection and trial proceedings will take place. The trial is set for January 5, 2026.
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