UPDATE
Apr 21, 2025 12:00 AM CDT
The long-running criminal case against a Texas gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack targeting Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in El Paso in 2019 is on the verge of coming to a close. Patrick Crusius, 26, is expected to plead guilty Monday to capital murder and receive a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole for the massacre near the US-Mexico border, the AP reports. Crusius is expected to serve his time in a state prison. Crusius initially was arrested by local authorities and will enter the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice if he is sentenced on the state charges, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.
Mar 26, 2025 12:30 AM CDT
The gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack targeting Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart near the US-Mexico border in 2019 would avoid the death penalty under a plea offer announced Tuesday, abruptly ending years of efforts by prosecutors to see that he face execution by lethal injection, the AP reports. El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya said during a news conference that his decision in the prosecution of Patrick Crusius, who drove across the state for one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history and posted a racist screed just before opening fire, was driven by a majority of victims' relatives who wanted the case behind them.
"Now, no one in this community will ever have to hear the perpetrator's name ever again," he added. "No more hearings. No more appeals. He will die in prison." But Montoya also acknowledged at the news conference that not all families agreed with the reversal by his office, which under previous leadership had committed to taking the case to trial and seeking the death penalty. Under the offer, Montoya said, Crusius would plead guilty to capital murder and receive life in prison with no possibility of parole. The plea hearing and sentencing is set for April 21, Montoya said, and families will be able to give victim impact statements.
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Crusius, 26, was already sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences at the federal level after pleading guilty in 2023 to hate crime charges. Under the Biden administration, federal prosecutors also took the death penalty off the table. He also must pay more than $5 million in restitution, though it's not clear he has assets approaching anywhere near that amount. Montoya said he supports the death penalty and believes Crusius deserves it. But he said he met with the families of the victims and while some were willing to wait as long as it took for a death sentence, there was an overriding desire to conclude the process. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, pushed back Tuesday: "Any shooting like that is what capital punishment is for."
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