Del Rio court weighs Border Patrol testimony in Arredondo case

A Del Rio federal judge was set to hear arguments over whether U.S. Border Patrol agents can be compelled to testify in Pete Arredondo’s criminal case.

The hearing grew out of Arredondo’s federal lawsuit after U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to make some agents available. Arredondo’s defense considers testimony from agents who responded to the May 24, 2022, attack critical as he prepares for a state criminal trial on 10 counts of abandoning or endangering a child.

The proceeding later was postponed because of flooding, and no new date had been set.

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, and the Justice Department’s critical incident review, released Jan. 18, 2024, concluded there were major failures in leadership, tactics, communication, training and preparedness. Thirty-three students and three teachers were trapped with the active shooter for more than an hour while officers stayed outside. CBP public materials show the gunman entered through an unsecured exterior door at 11:33 a.m., and public reporting put the response at more than 300 officers from multiple agencies, including 188 CBP personnel.

Judge Sid Harle tentatively set the trial for Feb. 22, 2027. Arredondo has pleaded not guilty and disputes Texas Department of Public Safety findings that he assumed command at the scene. His lawyers also have argued that 19 CBP employees were at the scene, while CBP warned that some information could come from other sources and that disclosure could expose confidential law-enforcement techniques and procedures.

Former Uvalde school police officer Adrian Gonzales was acquitted in a related prosecution in January 2026. Harle also granted Arredondo indigency status in March 2026, allowing him to use public funds for his defense.