Jury Finds Gonzales Guilty of Manslaughter in the High Speed Crash That Killed 3 Children

SAN ANGELO – A jury made up of mostly women took only a few hours to find Antonio Gonzales  guilty of causing the deaths of three local children in a high speed crash in 2021.

The last report San Angelo LIVE! had Wednesday came as the both sides rested their case. 

Final arguments were presented, during which the defense told the jury that Gonzales could not be found guilty because he did not 'consciously' try to run from the police that night. Assistant District Attorney Richard Villarreal argued that he can only say he didn't see the lights because Gonzales was going over 80 mph on S. Bryant. 

Villarreal reminded the jury that the black box in the vehicle indicated the throttle was a 99 percent a second before the crash occurred. He finished by laying three photos of the children in front of the jury. When this happened, he said. A number of faces in the panel turned gloom. Reporters did see tears in some of their eyes.

The charge was read and the jury began deliberation at around 12:45 p.m. They met for the majority of the afternoon but eventually came out with a guilty verdict on all six counts. The court then moved onto the punishment phase. Then, the jury will hear from both sides and then will determine Gonzales' sentence.

With the three counts of evading arrest causing death and three counts of manslaughter, Gonzales could spend up to 120 years in the TDCJ prison system. It is likely though that the jury will make the counts run concurrently with a punishment range from 2-20 years.

The court will resume on Friday morning at 8 a.m.

UPDATE 

Gonzales only faces 2-20 years. All of the charges will running concurrently.