The judge, presiding over the trial for the former Uvalde school police officer Adrian Gonzales, is committed to choosing a jury by the end of the day.
On Monday morning, about 450 potential jurors reported to jury duty at the Nueces County Courthouse, which was had a heavy police presence.
The entire jury pool has been summoned strictly for Gonzales in connection with the failed law enforcement response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde on May 24, 2022.
Gonzales' trial was moved out of Uvalde County to Nueces County in ensure he received an impartial jury..
When jurors arrived, a majority of them were placed in the central jury room and 50 others were placed in an overflow room on the fifth floor.
Around 10 a.m., ten potential jurors in the overflow room were asked to stay and the other were released.
Shortly after, Judge Sid Harle released jurors for lunch. They will return at 1 p.m.
Harle said he will select and seat a jury today, even if he has to stay later in the day.
"I'm not bringing all these people back for another day, so we are going to be completing this today," Harle said.
His goal is to have opening statements by tomorrow morning.
Gonzales is facing 29 counts of abandoning or endangering a child. Each charge carried up to two years in prison.
His trial is expected to last two weeks.
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