(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) -- Prosecutors rested their case against former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales on Tuesday following nine days of testimony and three dozen witnesses.
Prosecutors allege Gonzales, who is charged with child endangerment, did not follow his training at the Robb Elementary School mass shooting and endangered the 19 students who died and an additional 10 surviving students.
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argue he is being unfairly blamed for a broader law enforcement failure that day. It took 77 minutes before law enforcement mounted a counterassault to end the May 2022 rampage.
Shortly after the last state witness stepped off the stand, defense attorneys again accused prosecutors of carrying out a "trial by ambush."
Defense lawyers alleged that prosecutors never turned over an updated version of an analysis of Gonzales' actions or identified Gonzales in a recording of dispatch audio.
"It feels like a trial by ambush. It feels like they are setting up a straw man for us to go and defend against," defense attorney Jason Goss said.
Prosecutors argued they properly disclosed any changes and Judge Sid Harle denied a defense request to exclude the testimony of Texas Ranger Nick Hill.
Harle also denied a defense request to throw out the case.
Goss argued that the prosecution did not provide "evidence on every element that they have indicted, beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational juror confined beyond a reasonable doubt and so we're asking the court to grant a directed verdict."
Prosecutor Bill Turner pushed back, arguing that the jury has seen "ample evidence" to proceed with the case. Harle agreed, and defense attorneys are set to begin presenting their case on Tuesday morning.