FORT BLISS, Texas – A Soldier who assaulted his young son pleaded guilty to domestic violence during his trial Aug. 12 at the Col. Hubert Miller Courtroom.
Spc. Baltazar E. Gonzalez, 27, also pleaded guilty to the wrongful use of cocaine, drunken operation of a vehicle, and assaulting a civilian law enforcement officer. The military judge sentenced him to six years in prison and a dishonorable discharge from the Army.
While attending a party at a private residence in El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 17, 2025, Gonzalez was observed by a witness repeatedly punching his 3-year-old son in the head and chest while outside in the driveway of the home.
Officers with the El Paso Police Department responded to a 911 call and arrested Gonzalez. Paramedics also responded to the scene and transferred the child to the local hospital, where he remained for two days.
During their investigation, the El Paso PD obtained security camera footage from a neighbor which captured the assault.
Subsequent discussions between the country prosecutor’s office and the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel led to a decision that the Army would take lead in prosecuting Gonzalez for all known on-post and off-post offenses, to include a charge of wrongful use of cocaine which was detected during a unit urinalysis on Jan. 7, 2025.
With the case transferred to OSTC, Gonzalez was released from jail and his command restricted him to Fort Bliss.
Gonzalez violated these conditions on March 9, 2025, when he left post and was pulled over by an El Paso police officer for suspicion of drunk driving. During the traffic stop, Gonzalez became confrontational, assaulted the police officer and was arrested.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, the prosecution presented expert testimony from a board-certified child abuse pediatrician who, after viewing the security camera footage, discussed the potential for lethal harm involved in the domestic violence perpetrated by Gonzalez against his son.
“This positive result is the product of over a year of effective collaboration between military and civilian law enforcement agencies and military and civilian prosecution teams,” said Maj. Joshua Storm, prosecutor, Fifth Circuit, Army OSTC. “Although no court-martial sentence can undo the harm of domestic violence, the sentence imposed is an important step in securing justice for Spc. Gonzalez’s child.”
“This sentencing brings accountability to Spc. Gonzalez’s actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Olga Morales, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division Southwest Field Office. “His senseless attack on a defenseless child represents a grave violation of the professional ethics and values that define the U.S. Army.”
Gonzalez, an ammunition specialist assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, is currently confined at Otero County Detention Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico, awaiting orders to be transferred to a military corrections facility.
This case was investigated by the El Paso Police Department and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Southwest Field Office. It was prosecuted by Storm and Capt. Rachel Seifert, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 1st Armored Division.
About the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel: The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is composed of specially trained military lawyers, legal professionals and support staff responsible for the expert and independent prosecution of murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and other serious criminal offenses. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters that oversee 28 field offices located worldwide, including locations in Europe and Korea. For more information, visit www.army.mil/ostc.
To Report a Crime: If you would like to report a crime, have information about a crime, or have been the subject or survivor of a crime, you can submit anonymous tips to Army CID at www.p3tips.com/armycid.