{"id":16391,"date":"2025-04-20T02:04:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T06:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/?p=16391"},"modified":"2025-04-20T02:04:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T06:04:52","slug":"el-paso-walmart-shooter-to-plead-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/2025\/04\/20\/el-paso-walmart-shooter-to-plead-guilty\/","title":{"rendered":"El Paso Walmart Shooter To Plead Guilty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction to the Case<\/h2>\n

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.
\n
\nPatrick 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 U.S.-Mexico border. El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya said last month he was offering Crusius a plea deal and that he wouldn’t face the death penalty on the state charge.<\/p>\n

Background on the Sentencing<\/h2>\n

Crusius has already been sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in federal court after pleading guilty in 2023 to hate crime and weapons charges. Under the Biden administration, federal prosecutors also took the death penalty off the table.
\nCrusius 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.<\/p>\n

The Attack<\/h2>\n

Details of the Massacre<\/h3>\n

Crusius was 21 years old when authorities say he drove for more than 10 hours from his home in suburban Dallas to El Paso and opened fire at the Walmart, which is popular with shoppers from Mexico and the U.S.
\nProsecutors have said Crusius was wearing earmuffs that muted the sound of gunfire when he began shooting people in the parking lot.
\nHe then moved inside the store and continued firing an AK-style rifle, cornering shoppers at a bank near the entrance where nine were killed before shooting at the checkout area and people in aisles.
\nExiting Walmart, he fired on a passing car, killing an elderly man and wounding his wife.
\nCrusius was apprehended shortly after and confessed to officers who stopped him at an intersection, according to police.<\/p>\n

Targeting Hispanic Shoppers<\/h2>\n

Motivations Behind the Attack<\/h3>\n

In a posting to an online message board just before the massacre, Crusius, a white, community-college dropout, said the shooting was \u201cin response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.\u201d He said Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.
\nOn social media, he appeared consumed by the nation\u2019s immigration debate, tweeting #BuildtheWall and posts praising the hard-line border policies of Republican President Donald Trump, who was in his first term at the time.
\nAfter the shooting, Crusius told officers that he had targeted Mexicans.
\nJoe Spencer, one of Crusius\u2019 attorneys, on Thursday described Crusius as \u201can individual with a broken brain.\u201d Spencer said Crusius has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings.<\/p>\n

The Victims<\/h2>\n

Profiles of Those Affected<\/h3>\n

The people who were killed ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to grandparents. They included immigrants and Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips.
\nThey included Jordan Anchondo and Andre Anchondo, who were killed while shopping with their 2-month-old child, Paul, who survived. Authorities have said Jordan Anchondo shielded the baby from gunfire while her husband shielded them both.
\nOn Aug. 3, 2019, a man shot and killed 23 people at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, a community where 85% of residents are Hispanic. In English and Spanish, survivors told LX News’ Marcel Clarke and Beth Peak about witnessing the tragedy, helping victims at the scene, and their healing process still underway three years later. Warning: some viewers may find this video disturbing.
\nGuillermo \u201cMemo\u201d Garcia and his wife Jessica Coca Garcia were fundraising for their daughter’s soccer team in the parking lot when they were both shot. She suffered leg wounds but recovered. He died from his injuries nearly nine months after the shooting, raising the death toll to 23.
\nA week after the shooting, Coca Garcia rose from her wheelchair to give a speech across the road from the county jail where Crusius was being held.
\n\u201cRacism is something I always wanted to think didn\u2019t exist," she said. "Obviously, it does.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Long-Running Court Case<\/h2>\n

The Path to a Plea Deal<\/h3>\n

Montoya said he decided to offer the plea deal because a majority of victims’ relatives were eager for the case to be resolved. He acknowledged not all the families agreed.
\nMontoya, a Democrat, said he supports the death penalty and believes Crusius deserves it, but the case might not have gone to trial until 2028 if his office had continued seeking the death penalty.
\nWhen Montoya took office in January, he became the fourth district attorney to oversee the case in nearly six years. One of his predecessors resigned in 2022 under pressure over her handling of the case. He said the pandemic also caused delays.
\nStephanie Melendez, whose father, David Johnson, died shielding his wife and granddaughter, said she initially wanted Crusius to get the death penalty but as the case dragged on she wanted it to end.
\n\u201cI just wanted it to be over," Melendez said. "I was done reliving everything. I was done going to court for hours. I was done with the briefings that happened after that would last hours and it was just the same talk over and over again. We were just ready to be done with it all because, honestly, it\u2019s like reliving the trauma over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

The case of Patrick Crusius, who fatally shot 23 people at an El Paso Walmart, is nearing its end with a plea deal that spares his life but ensures he will spend the rest of his days in prison. The attack and its aftermath have left deep scars on the community, highlighting issues of racism, gun violence, and the impact of hate crimes on families and society.<\/p>\n

FAQs<\/h2>\n