Patrick Crusius, the El Paso Walmart mass shooter who killed 23 in cold blood in 2019, pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated assault. A judge sentenced him to life in prison for the 23 people he killed and the 22 people he injured.
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According to El Paso Matters, Crusius pleaded guilty on Monday, April 21. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for capital murder by 409th District Judge Sam Medrano. Additionally, Crusius was sentenced to life in prison for each of the 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He will serve his sentences concurrently.
During the hearing, Patrick Crusius was seen emotionless, providing short answers to Medrano's questions. The court was packed with media, prosecutors, and, of course, the victims' families, who had to go through several security screenings to be allowed inside the courtroom.
Crusius's guilty plea comes after District Attorney James Montoya decided not to pursue the death penalty. According to him, this decision came after consulting with the victims' families. Most of them wanted the case to be over once and for all. Montaya believes that if he decided to continue to pursue the death penalty, the case would not go to trial until 2028.
"The vast majority of them want this case over and done with as quickly as possible," Montoya said, as per CNN.
As per El Paso Matters, a federal and state prison systems spokesperson revealed that Crusius will most likely head to the Texas state prison system to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
El Paso Walmart Mass Shooting
The mass shooting carried out by Patrick Crusius occurred on August 3, 2019. Crusius, originally from Dallas, drove more than 10 hours to carry out his racism-fueled massacre, saying online that the shooting was "in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas."
Upon arriving in El Paso, while wearing earmuffs, he began shooting at people outside the Walmart located at 7101 Gateway West Blvd. He continued to fire his weapon after entering the store, eventually running out to shoot at a passing vehicle. In total, Crusius killed 23 and injured 22. Shortly after the mass shooting, he was arrested at a local intersection.
In 2023, Patrick Crusius was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in federal court. Half of the charges, as per CNN, were classified as hate crimes.
Inside the courtroom on Monday, April 21, 2025, DA James Montoya read the names of all the people Patrick Crusius killed and injured. Here is the complete list of all the people who died in the hands of Crusius back in 2019.
- Andre Anchondo, 23
- Jordan Anchondo, 24
- Arturo Benavides, 60
- Leonardo Campos, 41
- Angie Englisbee, 86
- Maria Flores, 77
- Raul Flores, 83
- Guillermo "Memo" Garcia, 36
- Jorge Calvillo García, 61
- Adolfo Cerros Hernández, 68
- Alexander Gerhard Hoffman, 66
- David Johnson, 63
- Luis Alfonzo Juarez, 90
- Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, 58
- Maribel (Campos) Loya, 56
- Ivan Filiberto Manzano, 46
- Elsa Mendoza Marquez, 57
- Gloria Irma Márquez, 61
- Margie Reckard, 63
- Sara Esther Regalado Moriel, 66
- Javier Rodriguez, 15
- Teresa Sanchez, 82
- Juan Velazquez, 77
