Patrick Crusius, the convicted gunman who opened fire on unsuspecting shoppers at a Texas Walmart shopping center in August 2019, has been sentenced. The 24-year-old appeared in court on Friday (July 7), where a judge doled out 90 consecutive life sentences, one for each of his 90 federal charges.
The judge also recommended he serve his time at a maximum security prison in Colorado. He is still facing the possibility of the death penalty in a separate case headed to trial. Crusius, who is white, carried out what officials say is the deadliest attack on the Hispanic community in modern US history. Then 21 years old, he used an AK-style rifle to target the patrons at the retailer in El Paso. He ranted about a “Hispanic invasion” in the “Lone Star” state before the killing spree, reported CBS News. Twenty-three people were killed, and another 22 were injured.
His deceased victims were identified as: 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.
“Patrick will leave prison in a coffin. The only question is, will it be on God’s time or man’s time?” defense lawyer Joe Spencer rhetorically asked as he spoke on behalf of Crusius at the hearing. Spencer claimed that the convicted murderer suffered from years of mental illness and was not racist despite the targeted hate crime. As reported by CNN, Spencer claimed, “This isn’t something we invented … this is something that has been in the works since childhood. This has been documented.”
Crusius pleaded guilty to a 90-count indictment in February. Among his charges were 45 firearm offenses and 22 other charges related to the violation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.