A district court judge denied a request to postpone a key hearing in the El Paso Walmart mass shooting case over allegations of misconduct by the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office.
Judge Sam Medrano of the 409th District Court denied District Attorney Bill Hicks’ request for a 30-day delay to an Oct. 31 hearing regarding defense attorneys’ motion alleging “outrageous misconduct” by prosecutors in the death penalty case.
Medrano ruled the Thursday, Oct. 31, hearing will not be postponed and the court will continue moving the state’s death penalty case against the gunman, 26-year-old Patrick Crusius . The case has dragged on for m o re than five years .
The ruling came after an hour-long hearing Thursday, Oct. 24, at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
The gunman attended the hearing wearing an orange and white jailhouse jumpsuit with handcuffs around his wrist and chains around his waist and ankles. The gunman, who was escorted into the courtroom by his attorneys and law enforcement officers, was wearing a bulletproof vest.