By USA Daily Now 
The gunman responsible for the 2019 mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart, which claimed 23 lives, is set to plead guilty to murder charges, bringing the case to a long-awaited conclusion. PATRICK CRUSIUS, 26, is expected to enter a guilty plea on Monday to capital murder charges and receive a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The racially motivated attack occurred on August 3, 2019, near the U.S.-Mexico border.
El Paso County District Attorney JAMES MONTOYA, a Democrat, announced last month that his office had offered CRUSIUS a plea deal to avoid the death penalty on state charges. This decision follows CRUSIUS‘s previous sentencing in federal court, where he received 90 consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to hate crime and weapons charges in 2023. Federal prosecutors under the Biden administration also opted against pursuing the death penalty.
CRUSIUS, who was 21 at the time of the shooting, drove over 10 hours from his suburban Dallas home to El Paso, where he opened fire at the Walmart. Prosecutors revealed that he wore earmuffs to muffle the sound of gunfire as he began shooting in the store’s parking lot with an AK-style rifle. He then moved inside, targeting shoppers at a bank near the entrance, where nine people were killed, before continuing his rampage in the checkout area and aisles. As he exited the store, he shot at a passing car, killing an elderly man and injuring his wife.
In a chilling online post prior to the attack, CRUSIUS, who is white, described the massacre as a response to the “Hispanic invasion of Texas,” claiming that Hispanics were poised to take over the government and economy. His social media posts also echoed rhetoric from the national immigration debate, including support for then-President DONALD TRUMP‘s immigration policies, such as the construction of a border wall.
The victims of the shooting ranged in age from 15 to elderly grandparents, including immigrants and Mexican nationals who had crossed the border for routine shopping trips. JESSICA COCA GARCIA, who survived the attack but lost her husband, spoke out about the trauma, stating, “Racism is something I always wanted to think didn’t exist. Obviously, it does.”
CRUSIUS‘s attorney, JOE SPENCER, described his client as an individual with a “broken brain,” citing a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, which can involve hallucinations, delusions, and mood swings. MONTOYA explained that the plea deal was offered to bring closure to the majority of victims’ families, though he acknowledged that not all agreed with the decision. He expressed personal support for the death penalty but noted that pursuing it could have delayed the trial until 2028.
The case has seen multiple delays, including the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in district attorneys. STEPHANIE MELENDEZ, whose father DAVID JOHNSON died shielding his wife and granddaughter, initially sought the death penalty but later prioritized ending the prolonged legal process. “I just wanted it to be over,” she said. “It’s like reliving the trauma over and over again.”
CRUSIUS is expected to serve his sentence in a Texas state prison. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that he will be transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice if sentenced on state charges.
[Sources: The Associated Press, Federal Bureau of Prisons]