Day 1: The State's First Witness Just Helped the Defense

The Uvalde trial started today. And within hours, the prosecution's case hit its first major problem: their own witness.

Gilbert Lemones works at the funeral home across the street from Robb Elementary. On May 24, 2022, he watched the entire massacre unfold from his window while desperately calling 911. The jury heard those calls today. They're gut-wrenching. "In the name of Jesus, Lord, please protect those children." A man begging for help while watching a monster walk toward a school full of kids.

The state called Lemones to establish the chaos, the urgency, the horror of that day. And he did. But then came cross-examination.

What the Defense Got Him to Say

Defense attorney Nico LaHood walked Lemones through the surveillance footage from the funeral home. And that footage shows something the prosecution probably wishes it didn't: Adrian Gonzales's vehicle driving "really fast" toward the school. Toward the shooting. Toward the danger.

But here's what made my jaw drop. Lemones testified that he didn't know until TODAY, sitting in that courtroom watching video evidence, that three other officers had arrived at the corner near the crash before Gonzales even entered the school grounds. Officers Mendula, Salcedo, and Coronado. They were there. They saw the shooter. One of them asked permission to fire.

And they didn't follow Gonzales onto that campus. They drove away.

The Question Nobody Can Answer

If Adrian Gonzales drove toward the shooting while three other officers stayed at the corner, why is he the only one sitting at that defense table?

Look, I'm not here to tell you Gonzales is innocent. I'm not here to tell you he's guilty. That's for the jury to decide based on the evidence. But I am here to watch whether the system does what it's supposed to do. And right now, Day 1, I'm watching a prosecution that just had its first witness undermine the central narrative of its case.

The state's theory is that Gonzales failed to engage, distract, or delay the shooter. That he had the training, the information, and the opportunity to act, and he didn't. But their own witness just told the jury he drove fast toward the school while other officers held back. Their own surveillance footage shows it.

LaHood also got Lemones to admit something else: stress affected his perception. On the 911 call, Lemones said the shooter was "running" toward the school. The video shows him walking. Lemones believed the shooter fired at children on the playground. There's no physical evidence of that. Memory under extreme stress is unreliable. That's not a criticism of Lemones. It's a fact the defense will use to question every witness's recollection of what happened in those chaotic minutes.

▶️ WATCH NOW State Undermines Own Case With First Witness | Adrian Gonzales Uvalde Trial

What Comes Next

This trial is going to be brutal. Autopsy photos of children. 911 calls from kids inside those classrooms. Body camera footage of officers standing in hallways while shots rang out. I've seen some of it in pre-trial hearings. It's the worst thing I've ever watched.

But we have to watch. Because this case asks a question that goes to the core of how we understand police responsibility in America: Can a law enforcement officer be criminally liable for failing to act while children are being slaughtered?

The only precedent is Parkland. Scot Peterson was acquitted. The jury couldn't agree that his inaction rose to criminal conduct. Uvalde prosecutors are trying to do what Florida prosecutors couldn't.

Day 1 didn't go the way they hoped.

I'll be here every day of this trial. We're going to watch whether the system does what it's supposed to do: prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt while protecting the rights of everyone involved, including the defendant.

That's the process. That's what we're here for.