EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Walmart shooter will be back in court on Monday, April 21 and is expected to plead guilty to state charges in the Aug. 3, 2019 massacre.

This comes after El Paso District Attorney James Montoya announced on March 25 that his office would not pursue the death penalty in the state’s long-delayed case against Patrick Crusius.

Crusius murdered 23 people in a racially motivated attack at the Cielo Vista Walmart store on that August day nearly six years ago now.

The Walmart shooter also wounded more than 20 others in the attack.

The Walmart shooter is expected to plead guilty in a plea agreement reached last month and then be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. Mountain Time at the El Paso County Courthouse. 

The plea hearing and sentencing are expected to last about 90 minutes on Monday morning.
The Walmart shooter is the most lethal mass shooter to face justice in a U.S. courtroom. There have been deadlier mass shootings than the Walmart massacre but all those gunmen either took their own lives or were killed by police.

After the guilty plea and expected sentencing, people who were victims of the attack will be able to address the court about how the crime impacted their lives and the lives of their families.

Victim impact statements are expected to last until Wednesday.

More than 40 people have signed up to talk about the crime during this portion of the court proceedings, KTSM was told.

The Walmart shooter pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal charges and was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms without possibility of parole.

Montoya said he made the decision to not pursue the death penalty on the state level after talking to families of the victims, shortly after taking office in January. He announced his decision last month.

He said families “want this case over and done with as soon as possible.”

The state’s case has long been delayed. Montoya is the fourth DA to oversee the state prosecution of the case.

The case has been riddled with delays caused by the COVID pandemic, the forced resignation of previous DA Yvonne Rosales and defense allegations of prosecutorial misconduct against the office of her replacement, Bill Hicks.

“This defendant will die in the penitentiary. He will not get out. He will die in prison. And fundamentally, that’s what this comes down to: Are we going to drag this out? For a year, two years, for decades, so we can stick a needle into his arm? He will die in prison. There’s no doubt about that,” Montoya said when he announced his decision not to pursue the death penalty.

We will provide coverage of the court proceedings on air and online at KTSM.com.