DALLAS _ The 23-year-old man accused in a mass shooting last month at a party outside Greenville was released from jail Tuesday after officials said "additional information has come to light."
The Hunt County Sheriff's Office has recommended the county's district attorney take no action on Brandon Ray Gonzales, who had been held on $1 million bail since his arrest on a capital murder charge Oct. 28.
In a statement released to multiple media outlets, the sheriff's department said it had learned more information since Gonzales' arrest.
"Due to the lack of cooperation from witnesses and discovery of exculpatory evidence during the course of the investigation, we have requested the Hunt County district attorney's office take no action on Mr. Gonzales' case at this time and that he be released from custody," the department said in a statement.
Gonzales was arrested after gunfire set off chaos late Oct. 26 at a party celebrating Texas A&M University-Commerce's homecoming, about 15 miles southwest from the campus in Commerce, which is about 65 miles northeast of Dallas.
Two 23-year-old men, Kevin Berry Jr. of Dallas and Byron Craven Jr. of Arlington, were killed at the party. Six others were shot, and several more were injured trying to escape the venue, some crawling through a broken window to flee.
Gonzales told WFAA-TV reporter Jason Whitely in a jailhouse interview the day of his arrest that he was at the party, but denied being the shooter.
"Whenever the shooting was going on, I was outside in the car, and I have witnesses to that," he told the station.
Gabriel Gonzales, Brandon Gonzales' brother, said the family was headed to the sheriff's office Tuesday night to meet Gonzales as he was released from custody.
Gabriel Gonzales said news of his brother's release was "amazing." He credited the community's help with ensuring the release.
"I feel like they made the right decision," he said.
Gonzales' family said from the start that he was not the gunman.
A day after Gonzales' arrest, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said the department was "fully confident that we have the right suspect."
The arrest warrant affidavit for Gonzales appears to rest on the account of one unnamed witness, who said they saw Gonzales open fire at the party and identified him through his Facebook profile. The witness spoke to authorities through an attorney, who was also not named in the document.
The Rev. Jeff Hood, an activist who organized a protest Saturday of more than 50 people calling for Gonzales' release, said he was astounded to hear the news Monday evening.
"The outcome of this case illustrates the incompetence of the Hunt County Sheriff's Department," Hood said. "The spirit of justice has prevailed and Brandon Gonzales is free."
He said Gonzales' release was the result of public pressure.
"This is merely the sheriff's department wiping egg off their face," he said. "This wasn't the result of a hearing _ this was the result of the sheriff's department realizing that they were wrong."
Gonzales' attorneys, Andrew Wilkerson and Michael Campbell, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday, but they celebrated their client's release in Facebook posts.
"And all we did was apply a little pressure," Campbell wrote. "Thank God they let our client go. He was an innocent man!!!"
Speaking to reporters on the day Gonzales was arrested at the local auto dealership where he works, Sheriff Randy Meeks said his department had not determined a motive or recovered the weapon used in the shooting.
In his statement Monday evening, Meeks said the department knew many people at the party had not spoken to law enforcement. As investigators worked the crime scene the day after the shooting, authorities said the investigation had been hindered by witnesses being reluctant to speak.
"Though individuals may have reasons for not wishing to come forward, we ask that they do so and tell law enforcement what you saw and heard that night no matter how small the information may be," Meeks said in the statement. "They may not know the importance of any information they have."
Authorities asked anyone who was present at the party or who has information about the shooting to contact the Hunt County Sheriff's Office at (903) 408-6800. Anonymous tips can be made to Hunt County Crime Stoppers at (903) 457-2929.
