Missing local attorney Ernesto Gonzales has still not shown up in court for a protective order he filed against five members of his family.
Missing local attorney Ernesto Gonzales has still not shown up in court for a protective order he filed against five members of his family.
After hearing some of the family’s issues in a hearing on Thursday morning, retired Judge Robert Garza told the family to try and locate Gonzales.
“I know there are a lot of anger issues … and I’m not saying it’s not important, but I think the situation with your brother (Gonzales) trumps everything,” Garza said.
Gonzales went missing five days after filing for a protective order against his extended family.
In an affidavit, he says he had to carry a hidden unloaded pistol in his truck. “I fear for my life,” he wrote.
According to the affidavit, Gonzales had a confrontation with some family members on June 21, the day he learned his mother suffered two “mini strokes.”
He called a doctor, he said, and was advised to call EMS.
“My siblings kept yelling at me that our mother was not going to be taken to the hospital,” he said in the affidavit.
His sister, Mary Ann Vilafana, said she was concerned about Gonzales’s well-being prior to his disappearance.
“He was acting out of the ordinary. We were trying to get help for him,” Vilafana said. “And all we want to do now is find my brother, because we love him. We were born and raised in a Christian family, and I love my brother and I love my sister (Alice).” The family was initially concerned that something happened with one of his clients. Gonzales defended criminals, Vilafana said.
“It’s a scary thing to happen, a scary thing to be around. Our concern when he went missing was, ‘Oh my god, what happened?’” Vilafana said.
The family believes their brother is alive and well.
The family will appear in court on Aug. 30 for another hearing regarding the protective order.
