Today in the United States, a Texas man who on August 3, 2019, opened fire at the Cielo Vista Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 23 people and injured 22 more entered a guilty plea.
90-Court Indictment
A 90-count indictment was presented to the District Court, 45 of which were charges of breaking the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. 45 charges of using a firearm during or in connection with violent offenses and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Patrick Wood Crusius, 24, the defendant, has consented to receive 90 consecutive life terms, one for each count in the indictment, in accordance with the plea deal.
The guilty plea included 23 counts for hate crime acts that resulted in the deaths of Andre Anchondo, Jordan Anchondo, Arturo Benavides, Jorge Calvillo Garcia, Guillermo Garcia, Leonardo Campos, Angelina Englisbee, Maria Flores, Raul Flores, Adolfo Cerros Hernandez, Alexander Hoffmann, David Johnson, Luis Alfonso Juarez, Maria Legarreta Rothe, Maribel Loya Hernandez, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, Gloria Irma Marquez, Elsa Mendoza Marquez, Margie Reckard, Sara Regalado Monreal, Javier Amir Rodriguez, Teresa Sanchez, and Juan Velasquez.
At least 22 hate crimes that resulted in physical harm and involved attempts to kill 22 gunshot victims were also mentioned in the plea.
The defendant admitted guilt to 45 firearms offenses, 23 charges of using a firearm in a violent crime that resulted in death, and 22 counts of using a firearm in a violent crime, in addition to the hate crimes.
Confession
Crusius confessed that he murdered and injured individuals at the Walmart because he believed that the persons he expected to be there were of the Hispanic national origin, as stated in the statement of facts that he consented to, signed, and had placed into the court record during his guilty plea hearing. He also said that his goal in firing was to kill everyone.
He also acknowledged that he created a manifesto with the working title “An Inconvenient Truth” and posted it online just before starting his assault. He described himself in it as a white supremacist who was driven to murder Hispanics because they were entering the country illegally.
Crusius said that he chose El Paso, a border city, as his target in an effort to deter immigration from Mexico and other Hispanic countries from entering the United States.
Together with the El Paso Police Department, the ATF, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner, the Allen Police Department, and the Dallas Police Department, the FBI investigated the case.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Kyle Boynton of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division and Michael Warbel of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section in addition to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ian Hanna, Gregory McDonald, and Patricia Acosta for the Western District of Texas’ El Paso Division.
A sentencing date has not yet been set by the U.S. District Court.
Other Reports, Busy Weekend
The incident took place on a busy weekend at a Walmart that frequently draws customers from both Mexico and the United States. Along with the fatalities, there were also more than two dozen injured, and hundreds more were left with scars from being there or witnessing a loved one suffer harm.
Mexico residents made up a large portion of the injured and killed.
Dee Margo, a former mayor of El Paso, who was present at the court, described the shooting victim as a “evil white supremacist” and said it was a heartbreaking day.
Margo stated, “It was hard. The death penalty ought to have been implemented at least two years ago, in my opinion.”
Margo stated that he hopes local prosecutors would keep pushing for the execution of the gunman.
