The criminal case will continue against formerUvalde, Texas, school police officerAdrian Gonzales, who is accused of placing more than two dozen children in "imminent danger" by failing to respond to theRobb Elementary Schoolshooting as it unfolded.
Judge Sid Harleon Wednesday denied the defense request for a mistrial after defense attorneysaccused prosecutors of withholding key informationthat was revealed during testimony on Tuesday.
Harle said he would likely exclude the part of Tuesday's testimony from former teacher Stephanie Hale, who told jurors she saw the shooter, Salvador Ramos, on the south side of the school. In an interview days after the shooting, Hale told investigators that she had not seen the shooter -- a change in her account that defense attorneys said was not disclosed to them.
Uvalde officer was told location of gunman but he failed to act, prosecutors say
"I don't believe what was testified to in front of the jury resonated enough to significantly affect your trial strategy," the judge said.
Defense attorneys filed their motion for a mistrial under seal, so their arguments were not immediately clear. In a brief statement at the start of Wednesday's hearing, defense attorney Jason Goss argued that the change in testimony affected their strategy during jury selection.
'This is a trial by ambush,' Uvalde officer's defense attorney alleges after testimony of witness changes
While defense attorneys argued that the teacher provided the only evidence that the shooter was on the south side of the school, prosecutors said that bullet casings would corroborate their argument.
The judge is set to hear more arguments on Wednesday afternoon about the best way to remedy the current situation.
Local attorneys who spoke with ABC News describedHarle, the judge overseeing the case,as a well-experienced jurist known for setting high standards for the lawyers who practice before him. The Texas law that requires prosecutors to hand over witness statements to defense attorneys -- known as the Michael Morton Act -- stemmed from a case in which Harle, himself, exonerated a man wrongly accused of killing his wife.
"He's not going to do any favors," Gerry Goldstein, an attorney for Morton, said of Harle. "He will call orders as he sees them."
What to know about the Texas judge overseeing the Uvalde school shooting case
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb. Investigations faulted the police response and suggested that a 77-minute delay in police mounting a counterassault could have contributed to the carnage that day.
Gonzales, who was one of nearly 400 law enforcement officers to respond to the scene, was charged with 29 counts of child endangerment for allegedly ignoring his training during the botched police response. Gonzales has pleaded not guilty and his legal team maintains he's being scapegoated. This case marks the second time in U.S. history that prosecutors have sought to hold a member of law enforcement criminally accountable for their response to a mass shooting.
