EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)- A sentencing hearing for the man responsible for the 2019 Walmart mass shooting will begin at 9 a.m. June 30, according to court documents.
The sentencing hearing will proceed under the following schedule:
- Discuss the Presentence Report and hear and resolve objections to the report; defense counsel and defendant Patrick Wood Crusius’s allocution: At 9 a.m. June 30, proceeding until finished.
-Crusius, 24, will be required to publicly describe the events of August 3, 2019, when he opened fire with his AR-15 rifle in the Cielo Vista Walmart store. - Victim impact statements: At 10 a.m. July 5, proceeding until finished. The court expects this part of the hearing to take multiple days.
-Victims of the shooting; those who were wounded, and family members of those who were murdered, will be able to testify. - The government’s allocution and the court’s pronouncement of the defendant’s sentence: At 10 a.m., the day immediately following the last victim impact statement
-Crusius will receive his sentence.
While each part of the proceeding will take place in Courtroom Number 812, at 525 Magoffin Avenue, the Court will provide overflow capacity in a designated space in the Courthouse, according to court documents.
Additionally, the sentencing schedule was set Wednesday by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama.
Once federal court has been completed and Crusius has been put into state custody, DA Bill Hicks said his office will be ready to proceed with the prosecution of the case.
“The number one priority of my office has been to put the Walmart case back on track. and I’m very confident that we have done that. we are we are prepared to proceed with the prosecution on the case. and once he is back in our custody, it looks like it’ll be sometime late June, maybe early august.” Bill Hicks, El Paso County District Attorney, said.
Hicks has maintained his decision on seeking the death penalty for Crusius.
