Uvalde officer’s attorneys say prosecution withheld evidence

Jan. 7 (UPI) — A judge canceled Wednesday’s hearing in the case of a former Uvalde officer after defense attorneys alleged a witness changed their testimony without notification.

Judge Sid Harle and attorneys on both sides of the Adrian Gonzales case are meeting in court without the jury present to address the testimony of Stephanie Hale. The former school teacher at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, testified on Tuesday.

Hale testified that she saw shooter Salvador Rolando Ramos walking on the south side of the school and firing at her students.

Defense attorney Jason Goss said that this information was not shared with his team prior to the testimony, as is required. Not sharing pertinent material that may be favorable to the defense during discovery is a violation of the defendant’s constitutional right to due process.

Prosecutors also said that Hale previously did not mention seeing Ramos or being shot at.

Hale acknowledged that she did not share these details when interviewed four days after the shooting.

Harle agreed to allow Goss to cross-examine Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell and another investigator about Hale’s changing testimony.

Goss questioned why investigators did not ask Hale where she saw the gunman. Mitchell responded that Goss was “getting very nitpicky,” and that she was in and out of interviews and running a law office while preparing witnesses for this case.

Defense attorney Nico LaHood said the issue could be grounds for a mistrial though he did not say whether his team will seek that outcome at this point.

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

Gonzales, the defendant on trial, is a former school district police officer who is facing 29 felony charges related to allegedly abandoning and endangering children with his response to the shooting.

Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers in May 24, 2022, shooting at the elementary school. Gonzales was one of the first officers on the scene that day. It took 77 minutes before responding officers engaged with the shooter.