The convicted El Paso Walmart mass shooter was flown from El Paso to a Texas state prison after being transferred to state custody, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said.
Patrick Crusius, now 26, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on April 21 after pleading guilty to killing 23 people and wounding dozens more in a racially-motivated mass shooting targeting Hispanics at the Walmart store near Cielo Vista Mall on Aug. 3, 2019.
He had been in solitary confinement at the El Paso County Jail since his arrest after the mass shooting.
On Wednesday morning, May 7, the prisoner was remanded into the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
He was shackled to a waist chain and wearing an orange-and-white striped El Paso County Jail jumpsuit as he was escorted by armed guards onto a Texas Department of Public Safety airplane on the El Paso airport tarmac, according to a photo released by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
The Texas DPS airplane flew the shooter to a prison in Huntsville, Texas, the Sheriff’s Office stated.
“I want to thank DPS for their critical partnership in ensuring this transfer was done safely and securely,” El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte said in a statement. “With this transfer complete, this individual is no longer in our community, and we can continue focusing on healing and moving forward.”
The gunman from Allen, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder of multiple persons and 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the state case. He was sentenced to life on each count. The sentences will be served concurrently.
He had been previously sentenced to life in federal prison in the federal case after pleading guilty to 90 federal charges in 2023 in the mass shooting case.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Walmart mass shooter transferred to state custody, flown to Texas prison
Reporting by Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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