The Uncharged Officer Takes the Stand

Look at the thumbnail for today's video. On the left, you see officers crouched behind police SUVs. One of them is holding an AR-15. They're at a corner, 130 yards from Robb Elementary, with a clear line of sight on the shooter. On the right, you see Sergeant Juan Coronado on the witness stand. The caption reads: NOT CHARGED.

That image tells you everything you need to know about this case.

The title is simple: "Uncharged Officer Who Let Uvalde Shooter Enter School Takes the Stand." No editorializing. No spin. Just the fact that should make every person watching this trial ask the same question the jurors should be asking: If this guy isn't charged, why is Adrian Gonzales on trial?

What Happened at That Corner

Sergeant Coronado testified today about his response to Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022. He was at the Uvalde Police Department doing paperwork when the call came in. He jumped in his Tahoe and drove toward the school. Standard stuff so far.

But here's where it gets interesting. On his way, Coronado stopped at the corner of Grove and Geraldine. Officers Mendoza and Saledo were already there, crouched behind their vehicles. One of them had an AR-15. They had eyes on the shooter.

Coronado didn't answer. He found the question "odd" because, as he testified, officers don't typically ask permission to use deadly force when they have a clear threat. They just act. But Saledo asked. And Coronado stayed silent. And the shooter walked into the school.

Neither Saledo nor Mendoza entered the building. Coronado eventually drove around to the front and did enter with Chief Arredondo, Adrian Gonzales, and Officer Paige. But those three officers at the corner with the AR-15 and the line of sight? They stayed outside.

The Contrast That Breaks the Prosecution's Case

Now think about what Adrian Gonzales did that day.

Adrian arrived at 11:31:55. He parked inside the campus while Mendoza and Saledo were still 130 yards away behind their vehicles. He broadcast "shots fired" at 11:32:20, before the shooter even entered the building at 11:32:58. He ran toward the gunfire. He entered the south hallway, a fatal funnel with no cover, only concealment. Bullet holes were punching through the sheetrock walls around him. Lieutenant Martinez got hit in the head. Adrian stayed in that hallway, taking fire, until Chief Arredondo ordered him outside to call for backup.

Adrian drove into the eye of the storm. Coronado's own words from cross-examination.

And yet Adrian Gonzales is the one sitting at the defense table facing 29 counts of child endangerment. Coronado, Saledo, and Mendoza face nothing. They're prosecution witnesses.

The Dispatch Failure Nobody's Talking About

Defense attorney Nico LaHood exposed something else today that deserves attention. At 11:29:05, a man named Gilbert Lemones called 911. He reported seeing a man in black running toward the school. He said the man was shooting at the school. He begged them to hurry.

That information was never broadcast to responding officers.

The officers at the corner didn't know there was a shooter heading into the school. They thought they were in a standoff. The officers entering the building didn't have the description of the shooter. The entire response was operating on incomplete information because dispatch failed to relay a critical 911 call.

This wasn't Adrian Gonzales's failure. This wasn't even Coronado's failure specifically. This was a systemic failure. Radios weren't working. Information wasn't flowing. Officers thought it was a bailout from a vehicle pursuit, not an active shooter in a school. Everyone was operating blind.

Why This Matters

The prosecution wants you to believe that Adrian Gonzales's actions that day constituted criminal child endangerment. They want you to focus on Adrian and ignore everyone else.

But today's testimony makes that impossible. Coronado himself agreed with the defense when Nico LaHood asked directly: Three officers with line of sight on the shooter didn't run toward the shooting. They stayed back. But we're supposed to prosecute the one who actually entered the building?

Coronado's answer: "No, I agree with you."

The prosecution's own witness just told the jury that this prosecution doesn't make sense.

▶️ WATCH NOW Uncharged Officer Who Let Uvalde Shooter Enter School Takes the Stand

The Real Question

If Coronado isn't charged, why is anyone charged?

If Saledo, who had an AR-15 and asked permission to fire and then did nothing, isn't charged, what exactly is the standard here?

If Mendoza, who was at that corner with a clear view and never entered the building, isn't charged, then how can you charge the officer who drove onto campus, broadcast shots fired, ran toward gunfire, and stayed in a fatal funnel until ordered to leave?

The answer is you can't. Not fairly. Not honestly. Not in a system that's supposed to treat everyone equally under the law.

This case isn't about holding someone accountable for Uvalde. It's about finding someone to blame so the system doesn't have to answer for its failures. Adrian Gonzales is the scapegoat. Today's testimony made that clearer than ever.

Three and a half hours of Sergeant Coronado on the stand. And by the end of it, the prosecution's case looked weaker than when the day started. That's what happens when you put an uncharged officer on the stand to testify against the one who actually ran in.