Texas gunman in Walmart shooting gets 90 consecutive life sentences and may still face death penalty
Published:Friday | July 7, 2023 | 1:44 PM
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A white gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in a Texas border city was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences but could still face more punishment, including the death penalty.
Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this year to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges in the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, making it one of the US government's largest hate crime cases.
Crusius, wearing a jumpsuit and shackles, did not speak during the hearing and showed no reaction as the sentence was read. US District Judge David Guaderrama recommended that Crusius serve his sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado.
Crusius still faces a separate trial in a Texas court that could end with him getting the death penalty for carrying out one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history.
As Crusius was led from the courtroom, the son of one of the victims shouted at him from the galley.
"We'll be seeing you again, coward," yelled Dean Reckard, whose mother, Margie Reckard, was slain in the attack. "No apologies, no nothing."
Police say Crusius drove more than 700 miles from his home near Dallas to target Hispanics with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store. Moments before the attack began, Crusius posted a racist screed online that warned of a Hispanic "invasion" of Texas.
In the years since the shooting, Republicans have described migrants crossing the southern US border as an "invasion," waving off critics who say the rhetoric fuels anti-immigrant views and violence.
Crusius pleaded guilty in February after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table. But Texas prosecutors have said they will try to put Crusius on death row when he stands trial in state court. That trial date has not yet been set.
Joe Spencer, Crusius' attorney, told the judge before the sentencing that his client has a "broken brain."
"Patrick's thinking is at odds with reality … resulting in delusional thinking," Spencer said.
Crusius became alarmed by his own violent thoughts, Spencer said, and he once left a job at a movie theatre because of them. He said Crusius once searched online to look for ways to address his mental health, and he dropped out of a community college near Dallas because of his struggles.
Spencer said Crusius had arrived in El Paso without a specific target in mind before winding up at the Walmart.
"Patrick acted with his broken brain cemented in delusions," Spencer said.
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