District Attorney denies claims of withholding evidence in Walmart case
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The El Paso district attorney rebuts a claim that the state is not disclosing all evidence in the Walmart shooting trial.
Those allegations were included in a renewed motion by the defense team for Patrick Crusius, who has already been convicted in a federal court and sentenced to 90 life terms in prison.
According to the documents ABC-7 obtained Wednesday, the defense states prosecutors did not turn over interviews they conducted in 2023 with two neighbors who knew Crusius when he was young.
According to the defense, the neighbors told prosecutors that Crusius was "not right" from birth, that he had special needs and likely has autism. The defense stated they believe that evidence would benefit their case.
District Attorney Bill Hicks told ABC-7 today his office has done nothing wrong.
"We're not concerned about any legal violations," Hicks said. "Although he, in his motions, makes it sound very sinister, and very uh, accusatory in his motions, we are very comfortable that we have not violated the law," Hicks added, referring to attorney Joe Spencer, who is part of the team of lawyers handling Crusius' defense.
Spencer has declined all interviews regarding the Walmart shooting capital murder trial, citing the gag order.
The next court hearing is set for Oct. 31.
"As we will show in the court hearing, we're very comfortable that there have been no violations," Hicks said. "Our notes, my prosecutors' memories and our notes that we have from all of the witness interviews do not align with the allegations that he's making."
The defense team has filed several motions in the case, alleging prosecutorial misconduct and asking for the charges to be dismissed, or for the death penalty to be removed as a sentencing option.
When asked if the state will continue to pursue the death penalty in the capital murder trial set for 2026, Hicks replied, "There is nothing that the defense has alleged that makes me question the course of action that we're taking. I believe this case should go to trial; I believe the public should hear the information and the evidence in this case. I believe the evidence should be put on trial."
By the time this defense motion is heard in a court hearing scheduled for Oct. 31, El Pasoans will be casting ballots during early voting for the November election.
Hicks, a Republican, was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in Dec. 2022 after the resignation of disgraced D.A. Yvonne Rosales. He is running to keep the seat against challenger James Montoya, a Democrat who was an assistant district attorney until Rosales took office in Jan. 2021.
ABC-7 asked Montoya for a comment on the latest motion and he only said, "The specific facts and circumstances of the case should be litigated in court and in legal filings."
