Hearing on alleged prosecutorial misconduct in Walmart capital murder case begins today

EL PASO, TX (KVIA) -- The capital murder case against Walmart shooter Patrick Crusius will return to court today for a two-day hearing on alleged prosecutorial misconduct by the El Paso District Attorney’s Office. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse.

This hearing will focus on multiple allegations made by Crusius’ defense team regarding the DA's handling of evidence and procedures.

Last week, Judge Sam Medrano denied a request from District Attorney Bill Hicks to postpone today’s hearing. On Tuesday, the DA’s office filed an appeal with the Texas Eighth District Court of Appeals to reverse Medrano’s decision. The court partially granted the DA's appeal, allowing the hearing to proceed but pausing any further action on two specific issues: the surveillance video of Crusius’ current housing and details related to his mental health care in jail.

Here are some of the allegations raised by Crusius’ attorneys: claims that the DA's office unlawfully obtained recordings of jailhouse phone calls between Crusius and his attorneys, accessed jail visitation logs of his meetings with his attorneys, intimidated potential witnesses, and failed to disclose evidence that may be favorable to the defense.

If the court finds evidence of misconduct, this could potentially dismiss the charges against Crusius or remove the death penalty, which is what DA Bill Hicks is seeking.

This hearing also comes just days before Election Day, where Hicks is running for reelection. The defense has argued that Hicks’ actions in the case are politically motivated. Hicks has denied these allegations repeatedly. 

ABC-7 will be at today’s hearing and will bring you complete coverage throughout the day.

We will also livestream the hearing on kvia.com and the KVIA news app.