Attorneys say Gonzales has suffered irreparable harm and that in addition to losing his job and being surrounded by bad publicity, he has become infamous as being a mass murderer.
Gonzales is seeking more than $3 million in damages.
Brandon Gonzales Suing Texas Rangers, Sheriff After Wrongful Capital Murder Arrest For Greenville Mass Shooting
GREENVILLE (CBSDFW.COM) - It was last year when the man falsely accused of shooting and killing two people at a homecoming party near Texas A&M University at Commerce threatened to sue, and on Tuesday that's exactly what Brandon Gonzales did.
The 2019 shooting, that happened in Greenville on October 27, killed two people and wounded more than a dozen others in a group of hundreds that were celebrating homecoming.
Gonzales has filed a lawsuit against the Hunt County Sheriff's Office, the Texas Rangers and several members of local and state law enforcement. The suit claims the offenses against the then 23-year-old include false arrest and false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
There were more than 700 people at the 'The Party Venue', along U.S. Highway 380, when a male shooter slipped in the back of the building and opened fire. At the time, investigators said they believed the shooter had an intended victim, and the rest of the shooting victims were hit randomly.
Gonzales has always admitted being at the party, but denied shooting anyone -- or even having a gun.
Lawyers for Gonzales say their client went inside The Party Venue around 11:00 p.m., but that it was very dark and crowded so he came out after getting hot. Attorneys say after going back to a car Gonzales made a Facetime call to a friend and was later shocked when he saw people running out of the building.
They say Gonzalez waited for the friend he went to the party with and that the two quickly left.
After being arrested the next day, on October 28, lawyers say members of the Texas Rangers told Gonzales that they thought he was lying about being the shooter and that he would "get the needle" for it.
Family and friends of Gonzales had always insisted officials had the wrong person, and even staged protests for his release -- which wasn't likely after his bail was set at $1 million.
The suit says that in an October 30 interview Sgt. Jeff Haines of the Hunt County Sheriff's Office said officials were "100 percent, without a doubt, sure that Brandon Gonzales was the shooter," and that Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks falsely claimed to have an eye-witness who identified Gonzales as the shooter.
Gonzales was in jail for nine days before being released after the Texas Rangers and Hunt County Sheriffs advised the Hunt County District Attorney to drop the charges against him.
Sheriff Meeks later said, "...the probable cause arrest was based on credible information and statements given to law enforcement. Law enforcement has diligently investigated this case and in the days since the arrest, additional information has come to light."
