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A judge has granted a motion of indigency for former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police chief Pete Arredondo in his criminal case tied to the Robb Elementary School shooting.
The order allows Arredondo to use public funds to support his legal defense. Court records show his monthly income exceeds expenses by a few hundred dollars, meeting local indigency guidelines.
Arredondo faces 10 counts of abandoning or endangering a child in connection with the May 2022 shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. He has denied wrongdoing.
More than 300 officers from multiple agencies responded to the scene, but waited more than an hour before confronting the gunman. The response has been widely scrutinized in investigations and public reports.
Arredondo is now the only officer still facing criminal charges related to the law enforcement response. Former Uvalde police officer Adrian Gonzales, who was also charged, was acquitted by a Nueces County jury in January.
The indigency order was issued by presiding Judge Sid Harle. In a separate order, Harle has paused Arredondo’s case while a federal legal dispute plays out over whether U.S. Border Patrol agents who responded to the shooting can be required to testify.
That dispute centers on questions of federal authority and whether those agents can be compelled to appear in a state criminal case.
No trial date has been set.
