Iraq War Army vet – jailed for murder charge – says he was defending family

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In September, Alejandro Gonzalez, an Iraq war Army veteran honored for his service in combat, drove his family from Union City, Georgia, to Baltimore to see his mother. 

The plan was for a short visit there before they all traveled in separate vehicles to visit his 94-year-old grandmother in New York, Gonzalez's lawyer said.

But the Baltimore visit took a turn for the worse over a long-standing apartment building neighbor dispute, and Baltimore prosecutors have charged Gonzalez, 38, with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Travis Ben-Watkins, 26. Gonzalez claims it was an act of self-defense.

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Alejandro Gonzalez, an Iraq war Army veteran, is charged with murder in the death of Travis Ben-Watkins. Gonzalez's lawyer claims it was an act of self-defense.  (Photo courtesy Gonzalez defense attorney Michael Stark)

Gonzalez is in a Baltimore jail while he awaits a trial set for March 2022 in Baltimore Circuit Court. His attorney, Michael Stark, said he is renewing a petition for Gonzalez's release on bond to stay with an Army friend in Frederick, Maryland, where he could remain until the trial. He would be staying in the state and close enough to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for continued treatment of wartime post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. 

This photo taken in July 2001 shows the front facade of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.  (Emilie Sommer/AFP via Getty Images)

Gonzalez reached the rank of staff sergeant before his medically-required retirement. During the Iraq War, he survived the deadly bombing in Mosul. He also survived IED explosions on seven separate occasions. His fiancee is helping him to raise his two sons. He started a small business teaching at-risk youth how to box, and earlier in 2021, he bought the family's first home.

An obituary describes Ben-Watkins as having a son and daughter. It says he "worked various jobs to support his family" and "loved football and spending time with his family." The obituary also said Ben-Watkins is survived by his parents and three siblings.

Fox News attempted to reach the parents identified in the obituary at the phone number listed to them, but did not get an immediate response to two voicemail messages.

What happened on Sept. 4?

Ben-Watkins was an upstairs neighbor of Gonzalez's 66-year-old mother. She had been having a dispute over trash and marijuana use with her upstairs neighbors.

During the Sept. 4 visit, Alejandro Gonzalez confronted Ben-Watkins about the ongoing dispute, according to The Baltimore Sun, and that conversation escalated. Stark said the neighbor threatened Gonzalez and his family, told him to wait and began to make a phone call.

Gonzalez, believing the neighbor was calling for backup, rushed to get everyone out and cut the visit short, Stark said. While helping his mother pack, he also grabbed her registered 9 mm handgun, Stark said.  

As they were about to leave, Ben-Watkins emerged outside with a wooden chair, smashed it on the ground, and charged, waving the broken leg of the chair like a club. That’s when Gonzalez fired the gun and killed Ben-Watkins, The Baltimore Sun reported.   

Gonzalez then proceeded to drive his family back to Georgia, and his mother went to the Baltimore police and told the department what happened, Stark said. 

"What cuts against him is that he went back to Georgia to begin with," Stark said. "But he was smart to get his kids away from there. He said he wanted to get his kids back home." 

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After getting his sons home, Gonzalez checked into a Veterans Affairs hospital in DeKalb County for his PTSD and TBI. From there, he called the police and told them where he was, Stark said. He was extradited on Sept. 28, The Baltimore Sun reported. 

Defense lawyer calls it ‘classic self-defense’ case 

Stark, the defense lawyer, is raising money to hire more lawyers for the defense of what he said is a "classic self-defense" case. GoFundMe removed the campaign since it is a legal matter, so Stark is trying to start a campaign on a GiveSendGo.  

"I regularly visit him in jail. I consider him a friend," Stark told Fox News. "His condition has improved. He did have a fear of gang retribution in jail. There was a lot of real stress. He’s figured the system out." 

Stark expects Gonzalez might have to move from the recently bought home. 

"After the jury finds him not guilty, which I’m certain it will, I’m concerned about him after he returns to Georgia," Stark said. "The gang has a national reach. So we’d like to help him relocate." 

Stark did not want to name the gang, fearing it would put his client in greater danger. 

Maryland is a ‘duty to retreat’ state

Zy Richardson, director of communications for the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the case, said the office would have no comment about an active case.  

What the prosecution appears to have in its favor is that Ben-Watkins was wielding the broken leg of a chair rather than a gun and that Gonzalez left the scene after the shooting. Another potential challenge for a self-defense plea is that Maryland is one of 15 "duty-to-retreat" states, which means that failing to retreat from a confrontation will in most cases strip someone of the right to use deadly force for self-defense.  

However, Stark contends his client was trying to retreat from a confrontation and only took his mother's gun for defense. Stark further contends Gonzalez had reason to believe the attacker had a gun. 

"This [first-degree murder] charge derived because Baltimore can’t get gun violence under control," Stark said. "So they bigfoot every gun case, whether it’s a shooting or possession." 

Stark, who leans left politically, wrote recently for Daily Kos about how, in this case, "politics and attitudes don’t fit into their typical neat little boxes."