EL PASO, Texas (KTEP) - A hearing to begin to schedule a state trial for the man who carried out a deadly mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 ended with no action after prosecutors and defense attorneys argued over the exchange of evidence.
“I was hopeful today that we could get closer to having this case resolved,” District Court Judge Sam Medrano said Thursday. “I am no closer to scheduling or establishing scheduling than I was in September.”
Patrick Crusius, now 25 and a self described white nationalist, killed 23 people and injured dozens in the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern U.S. history.
He is charged with capital murder and at least a dozen aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges by the state of Texas and faces the death penalty. He did not attend the hearing.
The El Paso County District Attorney’s Office and defense attorneys for Crusius were at odds during the entire hour-long hearing Thursday.
El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks asked Medrano to schedule pretrial motions in 30 days, which would set up a trial schedule.
“I think we communicated to the court well what the situation was and obviously there’s a lot of discovery in this case,” Hicks said.
Defense attorney Joe Spencer said his team may need three years to sort out evidence given to him by the District Attorney’s Office.
“We got seven terabytes of discovery this month. Over four and a half years later,” he said. “Why does it take four and a half years for us to get the discovery? That’s not our fault. That’s not the judge’s fault. That’s the District Attorney’s fault.”
Spencer also said the DA is looking to schedule a trial date as soon as possible because he’s running for the office he was appointed to by Gov. Greg Abbott. Hicks, a Republican, replaced former DA Yvonne Rosales, a Democrat. She resigned when faced with a petition to remove her from office.
“They’re interested in the reelection that’s coming up this year. So, it plays good for the media to say ‘we’re ready for trial. We’re ready to go.”
Hicks responded by telling Judge Medrano Spencer’s team was looking to delay the trial. And, if he’d done something wrong, for the defense to make a formal filing to the court for a hearing.
“Politics was taken out of the federal system, that’s why we resolved this case the way we resolved it. Because that was not a factor in the federal case,” Spencer told reporters during a press briefing outside the courtroom.
“We’re not politicizing it (the case),” Hicks told reporters. “It’s been my statement from the beginning that we’re going to be moving this case forward as best we can and we have.”
Hicks said the only new evidence his office shared with the defense team was a ballistics report, and video from dashboards and body cameras.
“The defense will never agree to what we want,” he said. “That’s their job. Their job is not to agree to what we want.”
Crusius was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms in federal prison after pleading guilty to federal hate crimes and murder. He was also ordered to pay over $5 million in federal restitution for financial losses to victims and families who lost loved ones in the attack.
Medrano scheduled another meeting for February 22, and told prosecutors and the defense attorneys to narrow down the timeline for going to trial.
“We’re going to move forward,” he said. “I want to come out with the court scheduling order this Spring, if not earlier. So, we will be having more of these hearings and they will get more productive as we go.”
