Federal Court prepares for sentencing of El Paso Walmart shooter

El Paso - The El Paso Walmart shooter who claimed the lives of 23 individuals, is slated to confront the families of his victims in a federal court sentencing hearing this week. Prosecutors are pushing for multiple consecutive life sentences in response to the horrific incident that occurred in August 2019.

The perpetrator, 24-year-old Patrick Crusius, confessed to 90 charges in February, half of which were federal hate crimes.

The gruesome event stands as one of the most lethal assaults against the Latino community in recent American history. Authorities affirm the attack was executed with the explicit aim of eradicating immigrants and Mexicans in the West Texas border city, leaving at least 22 people injured in addition to the deaths.

Crusius is facing 23 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, 23 charges for using a firearm to commit murder during a violent crime, 22 counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill, and another 22 charges for the use of a firearm during a violent crime.

Initially, Crusius pled not guilty but revised his plea in February once federal prosecutors declared they wouldn't pursue the death penalty. Instead, under a plea agreement with the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, he is likely to be handed 90 consecutive life sentences. However, if convicted on state charges, the death penalty remains a possibility.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled to commence Wednesday morning at the US courthouse in El Paso, with proceedings possibly extending over several days, as court records indicate. The hearing will kick off with a review of the presentence report and an opportunity for the defense and the shooter to speak before the court.

The proceedings will also include victim impact statements, allowing survivors and the families of those killed to express the enduring impact of the shooting. These testimonies are expected to begin at 1 p.m. and could span two days. The sentencing is set to occur the following morning or on the subsequent Monday if the testimonies conclude on a Friday.

Prior to the mass shooting on August 3, 2019, Crusius departed from his home in Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. He embarked on an 11-hour journey to El Paso, armed with a GP WASR-10 semi-automatic rifle and ammunition procured online weeks earlier. This is according to the indictment filed against him.

Crusius also left a disturbing digital footprint before the attack. He posted a 2,300-word racist manifesto on an online forum, expressing his anti-immigrant sentiments, opposition to "race mixing," and stated that the attack was a reaction to what he termed "the Hispanic invasion of Texas."

“They are the instigators, not me,” he wrote, per the indictment. “I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by the invasion.”

Then he opened fire on shoppers at the Walmart Supercenter – a location the US Justice Department said he admitted to choosing in an effort to dissuade Mexican and Hispanic immigrants from migrating to the United States.

At least eight of those killed were Mexican nationals. In pleading guilty, “Crusius admitted he killed and wounded people at the Walmart because of the actual and perceived Hispanic national origin of the people he expected to be at the Walmart,” DOJ said in a news release after his plea.

Crusius still faces charges from state prosecutors who have said they plan to seek the death penalty. He has pleaded not guilty to a state capital murder charge, but a trial has yet to be scheduled.

In January, El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks said a trial date will not be set until after sentencing in the federal case. The state trial could start in 2024 or 2025, but the schedule will be up to the district court judge, Hicks added.

Content source: Dallas Metro News, CNN, AP News, KXLY