Victims' heartbreak defines life sentencing of Walmart mass shooter

They came to seek justice. And their statements in the courtroom were heartbreaking — expressions of love in the face of pure evil.

Bertha Benavides spoke of her husband, Arturo: "He was a wonderful, loving man," she said as tears poured down her face. "We never had children, so you left me alone."

Genesis Davila, 16, one of the youngest El Pasoans to testify, mourned her youth soccer coach, Guillermo "Memo" Garcia: "I didn't want him to be gone. I didn't want this to be real. I will never forgive you."

Christopher Morales shared how his mother, grandmother and aunt, Teresa Sanchez — who was killed — loved getting together to go shopping: "You turned a special bonding moment into terror."

After nearly four years of waiting, Benavides, Davila and Morales and dozens of others courageously confronted the white supremacist who massacred their 23 family and friends at a busy El Paso Walmart on Aug. 3, 2019, near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Patrick Crusius' sentencing hearing last week ended Friday, July 7, as expected in 90 consecutive life sentences. Unexpected in the three-day hearing was the depth of community catharsis as the victims and survivors shared stories of tremendous loss, of loves and lives that define the binational El Paso-Juárez community whose essence the gunman sought to attack.

The gunman drove across Texas to the Borderland to kill in what federal prosecutors described as a "calculated scheme targeting immigrants, Hispanics." The gunman wrote in an online message before the attack that he was acting on the political rhetoric of an "invasion" of the U.S. by Hispanics at the southern border.

More: White supremacist to spend rest of life in prison for 2019 Walmart mass shooting

The gunman showed little emotion during the victim impact statements. Victims accused the gunman of smiling and rolling his eyes. Witnesses in the gallery say he showed little remorse.

Still, victims and survivors demanded the gunman look them in the eyes as they addressed him and view photos of the people they lost in the mass shooting.

On the opening morning of the sentencing hearing, the gunman informed the judge he would not be making a statement. While he pleaded guilty to 90 federal charges, the gunman still faces capital murder charges in Texas District Court and the death penalty.

State prosecutors say they will prove to a jury that the gunman should die by lethal injection for carrying out one of the deadliest attacks on Hispanics in U.S. history.

As he was led away from the courtroom, Dean Reckard, whose mother, Margie Reckard, was killed in the mass shooting, yelled, “We will be seeing you again, you coward. We will see you again.”

'Shooting spree spared no one'

On Friday morning, the sentencing hearing turned from two emotion-filled days back to a formal court proceeding. Within 45 minutes, Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama sentenced the gunman to spend the rest of his life in prison.

More than 60 people sat shoulder to shoulder in the courtroom to allow as many people as possible to witness the official sentencing of the 24-year-old gunman. Bailiffs worked to fit people into the main courtroom and an overflow room at the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.

The courtroom became quiet as the gunman, wearing a blue jailhouse jumpsuit with handcuffs around his wrist and ankles, was escorted into the courtroom by U.S. marshals.

He sat still in his chair. The sounds of the people slowly crying could be heard in the courtroom.

While the gunman avoided eye contact with the victims, all eyes were on him. Each victim getting one last look before the man who killed their loved ones heard his punishment read out loud.

There was little suspense regarding the sentence as the gunman and his attorneys had reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors months ago.

More: Tearful testimonies continue as victims of El Paso Walmart shooting confront gunman

The hearing started with defense attorney Joe Spencer and federal prosecutor Ian Martinez Hanna addressing the court about the appropriate sentence. Both attorneys call El Paso home.

Spencer disclosed the gunman was suffering from a mental illness called schizoaffective disorder.

"Patrick experienced breaks from reality," Spencer said. "He often heard voices in his head. He had hallucinations."

Spencer said the gunman acted with a “broken brain.”

In his final address to the court, federal prosecutor Hanna argued that mental illness was not an excuse for mercilessly killing innocent people from El Paso, Juárez and Germany.

"Twenty-three people killed, 21 shot, and one baby boy seriously injured when his parents fell on him mortally wounded,” Hanna said. "What happened was a cold, calculated scheme targeting immigrants, Hispanics. The shooting spree spared no one. Spared no one."

The mass shooting wasn't a crime of passion or an accident, and the weeks the gunman spent preparing for the shooting showed the massacre wasn't because of mental illness, Hanna said.

"Seventeen minutes after posting his manifesto, he started killing," Hanna said. "He started killing after a 10-hour drive. He started killing two weeks after writing his manifesto."

More: Walmart mass shooting gunman faces victims as sentencing hearing begins in El Paso

In February, the gunman pleaded guilty to 23 counts of federal hate crimes resulting in death, 23 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, 22 counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill, and 22 counts of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Guaderrama wasted little time handing down the 90 consecutive life sentences, ending the three-day emotional rollercoaster the victims endured.

"It is good that it is over," said Francisco Javier Rodriguez, whose son, Javier Amir Rodriguez, 15, was the youngest person killed during the mass shooting. "Nothing he can say will bring my son back."

Standing #El Paso strong

Public reaction to the gunman's sentence was mixed. Authorities praised the life sentence while others say the federal case amounted to partial justice.

"While this sentence cannot possibly replace the lives lost or undo the harm done to the survivors or those otherwise impacted by this horrific event, it is our hope this sentence of 90 consecutive life terms brings some finality and peace to those affected, with the knowledge that this ensures this defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison," Margaret Leachman, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, said in a statement.

FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jeffery R. Downey added in a statement, "Although today’s federal sentencing cannot bring back the loved ones lost or the innocence shattered on Aug. 3, 2019, it is a step closer towards obtaining justice for the victims, survivors and our El Paso community. Our hearts are with the victims, their families and our community as El Paso continues to move forward and heal from these horrendous acts that targeted El Paso’s proud multi-cultural community."

El Paso Police Department Interim Chief of Police Peter Pacillas called on the community to never let the names of the victims be forgotten.

“Today signifies a pivotal moment for those wounded and the families tormented by the August 3rd assailant,” Pacillas said in a statement. “May this sentence offer them a glimmer of solace and commence their journey towards healing. Let the names of those we lost and those forever marked by this tragedy be eternally etched in our community's heart and memory.”

More: Admitted white supremacist pleads guilty to El Paso Walmart shooting charges

El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said he wants to focus on the community’s healing and not give “the shooter a bigger stage than the community.” The County is planning the memorials that will take place this August, on the fourth anniversary, he said, adding a mural, new lighting and fresh landscaping to the Healing Garden.

“We are looking forward to honoring the victims and their families and never to forget the collateral impact,” Samaniego said. “Twenty-three died. Twenty-six were hurt but thousands were affected. There is a lot of disenfranchised grief in the community.”

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said it's important for the world to know what happened in El Paso.

“No sentence can bring back the 23 innocent souls we lost on Aug. 3, 2019, or take away the profound pain the survivors and their loved ones live with every day,” Escobar said on Twitter. “The hatred that is white supremacy and the easy access to assault weapons fueled a tragedy that many El Pasoans still live with and we must continue to work for change."

Beto O’Rourke, who competed for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, grew close to some of the victims’ families when he was El Paso congressman in 2019.

“In addition to this sentence, true justice would address the guilt of those who stoked fears of ‘invasion,’ told Texans to ‘take matters into their own hands,’ spread replacement theory, and made it too easy to buy a weapon of war used to kill 23 people in a matter of minutes,” O’Rourke wrote on Twitter in the wake of the sentencing.

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, represents a district that includes part of El Paso County. In a statement Friday, he said the verdict “is a step in the right direction."

“The next step is for lawmakers at all levels to come together and address the epidemic of mass shootings that continues to plague our country,” he said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made no immediate public statement on the sentencing. He didn't respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both Texas Republicans, did not publicly comment on the sentencing.

U.S. President Joe Biden also did not release a statement Friday on the sentencing.

Reducing mass shootings, seeking 'common sense reform'

Texas State Rep. Joe Moody said his heart hurts for the victims and El Paso community but fears mass shootings will continue as Texas legislators have refused to take action on gun control laws.

"There's nothing that is different now than it was four years ago," said Moody, D-El Paso. "My only hope is that people open their hearts and their minds and understand that they can keep this grief and this tragedy from visiting their community. If they would only just look at common sense reform.

"I don't think it's a tall task," he said, "but you have to have willing lawmakers to engage in a meaningful conversation and ultimately that's what it's going to take."

Political leaders need to unite to fix gun laws in Texas to make sure another El Paso or Uvalde, Texas, shooting doesn't happen again, he said. Recent events, however, have shown it is unlikely, he said.

"When you don't have any rules and no regulations to keep weapons out of people's hands that don't need to have them," Moody said, "you'll continue to have horrific tragedies like we had in El Paso and much like the one that we saw later in Uvalde."

'I want him to get the death penalty'

Almost immediately the focus shifted to the pending state district court case.

Many victims said they are holding out hope that the Walmart mass shooter will be convicted on state charges and face the death penalty.

"He deserves the harshest punishment," said Reckard, who visited the Grand Candela victims' memorial at Walmart, after the gunman was sentenced.

"We got a long way to go before I feel the healing can continue," he said. "It is going to be a long time. We are already four years. We are looking at possibly another two years."

Outside the federal courthouse, Spencer, the defense attorney, accused state prosecutors of being politically motivated to pursue the death penalty.

"We don't believe any jury in this country will give Patrick Crusius the death penalty because of the mitigating evidence that we produced to the federal government, which is quite capable of making an evaluation," Spencer said. "But they (the District Attorney's Office) don't worry about calling a press conference and saying 'I want the death penalty. We should have the death penalty'" before running for office.

Chasing the death penalty will only hurt the victims and their families more, taking many years and millions of dollars to litigate, Spencer, who is vehemently opposed to the death penalty, argued.

"And it may take decades before this community reaches judicial finality, and that is outrageous," he said.

El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks said in a press conference Thursday that his office is still seeking the death penalty against the gunman. Nothing that happened in the federal case will impact the state's case, he said.

“We are still going to be prosecuting the Walmart shooter," Hicks said. "We are still going to be seeking the death penalty on the Walmart shooter."

A state trial date has not been set but could be held next year or in 2025 depending on when Texas' 409th District Judge Sam Medrano calls the case to trial, Hicks said.

As the victims and their families breathe a sigh of relief knowing the gunman will spend the rest of his life in prison, they know the journey to justice is far from over.

"It's a relief, but I know it's not over," said Rodriguez, the father who lost his teenage son. "Now we have to wait and see what happens in the state courts. Yeah, I want him to get the death penalty. I hope they try to get it and get it. He deserves it."

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Victims receive sense of justice as they confront Walmart shooter