Brandon Gonzales Plans To Sue Sheriff's Office After Being Previously Accused Of Shooting Up Greenville Party
GREENVILLE (CBSDFW.COM) — The man falsely accused of shooting eight people at a homecoming party near Greenville last month plans to sue the Hunt County Sheriff's Office.
Brandon Gonzales said he doesn't want another innocent man to go through what he did.
"Today, it still feels like a dream," he said.
Gonzales was released from jail Tuesday night, and the charges against him have been dropped, but he still spent nine days in jail for a crime he didn't commit.
"As I was in the cell, I'm like capital murder... me... how?" Gonzales said. "Just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, and I just couldn't do it."
Gonzales still doesn't understand why investigators zeroed in on him as the shooter who opened fire at a Texas A&M-Commerce off-campus party. He was at the event, but says he was sitting in his car FaceTiming his girlfriend when shots rang out.
"I gave them my phone," he said. "I gave them everything. I knew I was innocent."
The Hunt County Sheriff's Office said Gonzales was arrested based on credible information, but they later found new evidence that cleared his name.
Even though he's now a free man, Gonzales said the damage is already done.
"It will always be in my head — how Greenville, Texas law enforcement put my image out there, not only in Texas, but across the world," Gonzales said.
However, he's thankful for all the family and friends who stood by him, and the complete strangers who believed his innocence.
Now, Gonzales wants investigators to find who really did this.
"I really hope justice is served for the people that lost their lives and the families who lost their kids," he said. "I hate that they put that image on me, because I'm sure the families look at me some type of way, and I really hate that because I'm not the guy who took their son, you know what I'm saying. That's not me."
The Hunt County Sheriff's Office hasn't answered any questions about the status of the investigation now that Gonzales has been released. They said they still need people who were at the party to come forward with any information they might have.