A Fort Bliss soldier has pled guilty to domestic violence and other counts and been sentenced to six years in prison by a military court, according to a news release from the United States Army.
Spc. Baltazar E. Gonzalez, 27, abused his infant son and admitted to domestic violence during his military trial at Fort Bliss earlier this month.
Gonzalez, 27, also pled guilty to cocaine possession, driving under the influence, and assaulting a civilian law enforcement officer, according to the Army.
Gonzalez was also awarded a dishonorable discharge from the Army by the military judge.
On Feb. 17, 2025, while attending a party at a private home in El Paso, a witness saw Gonzalez repeatedly punch his 3-year-old son in the head and chest while outdoors in the driveway, according to the Army.
Officers from the El Paso Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call and apprehended Gonzalez. Paramedics also came to the scene and transported the boy to a nearby hospital, where he stayed for two days.
During their investigation, the El Paso Police Department received security camera footage from a neighbor that showed the assault.
Following discussions between the District Attorney’s Office and the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, the Army decided to take the lead in prosecuting Gonzalez for all known on-post and off-post offenses, including a charge of wrongful use of cocaine discovered during a unit urinalysis on Jan. 7, 2025, the Army said.
Gonzalez was released from jail after his case was transferred to OSTC, and his command limited him to Fort Bliss.
Gonzalez violated these rules on March 9, 2025, when he left his post and was stopped by an El Paso Police officer on suspicion of drunk driving. During the traffic stop, Gonzalez became combative, assaulted the officer, and was detained, according to the Army.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, the prosecution introduced expert testimony from a board-certified child abuse pediatrician who, after reviewing the security camera film, discussed the possibility of lethal harm in Gonzalez’s domestic violence against his kid.
“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 of the 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 served as an ammunition specialist in the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, at Fort Bliss. As of last week, he was held at the Otero County Detention Center in Alamogordo, awaiting orders to be transported to a military prison facility.
The El Paso Police Department and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Southwest Field Office worked together to investigate this case. Storm and Captain Rachel Seifert from the 1st Armored Division’s Office of the Staff Judge Advocate prosecuted the case.
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