Man released from jail after arrest for deadly Greenville party shooting plans to file lawsuit
GREENVILLE, Texas - The Hunt County district attorney dropped the case against the man initially arrested for a shooting at a party in Greenville that killed two people.
Brandon Gonzales was released from custody Tuesday.
The sheriff's office said new evidence, plus uncooperative witnesses led to the release, and the capital murder charge against Gonzales was dropped.
The day after Gonzales was released, the Hunt County sheriff once again asked anyone with information about this shooting to come forward.
For now, the case against Gonzales has been dropped.
The sheriff is not saying if they still consider Gonzales a suspect, or if they have any other suspects or persons of interest in mind.
"Knowing that you're innocent, it kills your whole demeanor, your personality,” Gonzales said after being released Tuesday.
After spending nine days in jail for two murders he says he didn't commit, Gonzales is walking free, and he thanked his supporters who have said all along it wasn't him.
MORE: Man accused of deadly shooting at Greenville party venue released from jail
"The whole time I was in there, I was like, ‘I wish whoever really did it would turn themselves in,’” Gonzales added.
Initially, the Hunt County Sheriff's Office said a credible witness saw Gonzales pull a gun from his waistband and start shooting at the party.
The arrest affidavit, filed by a Texas Rangers investigator, describes the unnamed witness as being forthcoming and reliable.
Former Dallas PD officer and Palestine Police Chief Andy Harvey is not involved in the case, but reviewed the affidavit.
He said authorities may have had enough evidence to arrest Gonzales, but may not have had enough to convict him.
“We're wondering, if they had a good case in the beginning, what happened to it?” Harvey said. “Witness testimony can be reliable, you just have to corroborate it with something. When you do that, you're on more solid ground, but if you only have one eyewitness testimony, that can be a very tricky thing.”
The arrest affidavit pointed to more evidence that supported the case against Gonzales - but didn't explicitly say what else investigators had on him.
“They had a credible witness they thought was very credible, that's very important. They didn't list the evidence, but they had other corroborating evidence they thought was enough to have probable cause for an arrest,” Harvey added.
The Hunt County Sheriff's Office is not saying what happened or what made them change course, but did point out that uncooperative witnesses have affected the investigation.
Law enforcement officials say the case is still very active and they're urging witnesses to come forward.
And as for Gonzales, the Hunt County District Attorney's Office said they will not be moving forward with a case against him unless there's new evidence.
Gonzales' attorney said they are working to file a civil lawsuit for his wrongful arrest.
They expect that suit to be filed in the next 10 days.