Texas gunman in Walmart shooting gets 90 consecutive life sentences and may still face death penalty

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 U.S. 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. U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama recommended that Crusius serve his sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado and receive treatment and counseling for a severe mental health condition. ADVERTISEMENT MORE ABOUT THIS SHOOTING Paul Jamrowski, father of Jordan Anchondo and father in law of Andre Anchondo, who both died in the El Paso Walmart mass shooting, breaks down in tears while speaking to the media outside the federal court in El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Patrick Crusius, who is accused of killing nearly two dozen people in a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart in August 2019, is set to receive multiple life sentences after pleading guilty to federal hate crimes and weapons charges in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton) Families confront the Texas Walmart gunman in court. Some forgive him, others want the death penalty Relatives of victims of the August 2019 Walmart mass shooting, who declined to speak to the media, leave the federal court in El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Defendant Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty to federal charges accusing him of killing 23 people in the racist attack, changing his plea weeks after the U.S. government said it wouldn't seek the death penalty for the hate crimes and firearms violations. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton) Texas man pleads guilty in racist 2019 Walmart attack FILE - This undated file image provided by the FBI shows Patrick Crusius, whom authorities have identified as the gunman who killed multiple people at an El Paso, Texas, shopping area. Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019. The FBI has labeled two of those attacks, at the Texas Walmart and California food festival, as domestic terrorism — acts meant to intimidate or coerce a civilian population and affect government policy. But the bureau hasn't gone that far with a shooting at an Ohio entertainment district. (FBI via AP, File) El Paso crowd decries racism week after mass shooting 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 U.S. history. As Crusius was led from the courtroom, the son of one of the victims shouted from the gallery. “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 U.S. border as an “invasion,” waving off critics who say the rhetoric fuels anti-immigrant views and violence. ADVERTISEMENT 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. In the U.S. government’s case, Crusius received a life sentence for each of the 90 charges against him, half of which were classified as hate crimes. Attorney General Merrick Garland said after the sentencing that “no one in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence.” Joe Spencer, Crusius’ attorney, told the judge before the sentencing that his client has a “broken brain.” He said Crusius had arrived in El Paso without a specific target in mind before winding up at the Walmart. “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 theater because of them. He said Crusius also 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. The sentencing in El Paso followed two days of impact statements from relatives of the victims, including citizens of Mexico and a German national. In addition to the dead, more than two dozen people were injured and numerous others were severely traumatized as they hid or fled. ADVERTISEMENT IMPACT OF GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA Mayah Zamora, second from left, a survivor of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, poses for a photo with her mom Christina, left, dad Ruben, and brother Zach, right, at their home in San Antonio, Tuesday, June 27, 2023. Besides medical bills and the weight of trauma and grief, mass shooting survivors and their family members contend with scores of other changes that show how thoroughly their lives have been upended by violence. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) The aftermath of mass shootings infiltrates every corner of survivors’ lives FILE - Felicia Martinez, mother of Xavier Lopez who was killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, tries to hold back tears after speaking at a news conference at the Texas Capitol with Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2023. Gutierrez says he is filing legislation in the wake of Texas' rising gun violence. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) Mass shootings lead to widening divide on state gun policies Gov. Wes Moore speaks to the media during a visit to the Brooklyn Homes Community Center in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Baltimore, to meet residents following a mass shooting several days earlier that killed two people and injured multiple others. Moore was joined by, from left, Sen. Ben Cardin, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, first lady Dawn Moore, Del. Luke Clippinger, Senate President Bill Ferguson, Mayor Brandon Scott and other officials. (Amy Davis/The Baltimore Sun via AP) Gun violence claims lives at gatherings over the July Fourth holiday One by one, family members used their first opportunity since the shooting to directly address Crusius, describing how their lives have been upended by grief and pain. Some forgave him. One man displayed photographs of his slain father and insisted that the gunman look at them. Crusius’ family did not appear in the courtroom during the sentencing phase. The attack was the deadliest of a dozen mass shootings in the U.S. linked to hate crimes since 2006, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. Before the shooting, Crusius had appeared consumed by the nation’s immigration debate, tweeting #BuildtheWall and posts that praised then-President Donald Trump’s hard-line border policies. He went further in his rant posted before the attack, sounding warnings that Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy. Ian Hanna, an assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the government’s case, said Crusius had embraced the “insidious lie” that America only belonged to white people. “He wanted to eliminate a class of people,” Hanna said. ADVERTISEMENT Tito Anchondo, whose brother Andre Anchondo was killed in the attack, called the sentence “the best it’s going to get” because it ensures that Crusius will be left to think about his actions in prison for the rest of his life. “In a sense justice was served today, and in another sense I don’t think anything is ever going to be the same,” he said. The people who were killed ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to several grandparents. They included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, teachers, tradesmen including a former iron worker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips. Two teenage girls recounted their narrow escape from Crusius’ rampage as they participated in a fundraiser for their youth soccer team outside the store, and said they are still fearful in public. Margaret Juarez, whose 90-year-old father was slain and whose mother was wounded but survived, said she found it ironic that Crusius would spend his life in prison among inmates from racial and ethnic minorities. Others in the courtroom applauded Thursday as she celebrated their liberty. “Swim in the waters of prison,” she told Crusius. “Now we’re going to enjoy the sunshine. … We still have our freedom, in our country.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.