It took Frank Rodriguez less than a minute to address the gunman directly and implore him to “have the balls” to face him. Rodriguez’s son, Javier Rodriguez was the youngest victim at only 15 and wanted to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent, his father previously said.
“Look at me! I’m talking to you. I’m only asking you (for) two minutes. Two minutes of your time. You had over 10 hours to think about what you were going to do! Now you can’t give me two minutes?” Rodriguez said, alluding to the time it took to drive from Allen to El Paso. “Thanks to you, now I go to the cemetery with my family on my son’s birthday. We take a cake, some ice cream. We go down there and sing Happy Birthday. Thanks to you.”
Rodriguez and other family members of victims of the 2019 shooting at an El Paso Walmart — one of the largest mass shootings in Texas history, and one of the deadliest on Hispanic civilians in American history — delivered impact statements Tuesday as a plea hearing for gunman Patrick Crusius continued into a second day.
Crusius, 26, pleaded guilty to capital murder and aggravated assault charges. He received life in prison under a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya said his decision to take the death penalty off the table came after speaking with some of the victims’ families.
“It became very clear that the vast majority of them want this case over and done with as quickly as possible,” Montoya, a Democrat, said during a press conference last month. Seeking the death penalty, he added, could have prolonged the case for at least three more years.
The conclusion of the state case could bring an element of closure for the families and the community, which are still reeling from the shooting.
More than 40 people signed up to face the gunman and provide impact statements, which began Monday.
Some of Tuesday morning’s statements were more biting as forgiveness gave way to anger for some of the victims’ relatives. More alluded to their thoughts on Crusius avoiding the death penalty by taking the plea that instead gives him a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Rodriguez hinted he’d like to take matters into his own hands.
“I wish I could just get five minutes with you, me and you. And get it over with,” he said.
Later, Dean Reckard spoke slowly and deliberately as he told Crusius that he made good on a promise he made to the gunman nearly two years ago.
“I told you the last time I saw you, I’d see your face again. Well, here I am,” said Reckard, whose mother Margie Reckard was killed in the attack. “You’re a disgrace to humanity and to your family. I’ve noticed your family isn’t here. They’ll probably have to hide for the rest of their lives because of the evil you brought upon their name.”
Reckard added that he didn’t buy the claim about Crusius’s mental state — Crusius’ attorney, Joe Spencer, has argued that his client has schizoaffective disorder that causes delusions — accusing him of trying to game the system, and told the gunman he was “looking a little rough,” perhaps because of the physical toll being in prison was taking.
“I hope that what you’ve experienced these past five years, going on six now, is 100 times worse for you when you go to prison,” he said. “You may have succeeded in getting life in prison instead of being sentenced to death. My hope is you wake up each morning wishing you were dead.”
Yet, despite the anger, forgiveness remained a constant theme throughout the testimony.
Reckard said he accepted that he’ll never have some of the answers he and his family have longed for since 2019.
“There are so many things that I would like to say but it’s not going to do any good. So many questions I have for you, that I know you’re not going to sit over there and give me the answers to them,” he said.
Then, he forgave the gunman who took his mother’s life.
“I forgive you though. In order to be forgiven, you have to forgive others. That’s the only reason I forgive you. May God have mercy on your soul.”
In one of the most emotional moments of the morning, Yolanda Tinajero, whose brother Arturo Benavides was killed that day, told Crusius about the emptiness she and her family feel since the shooting.
“I want to imagine and understand how his wife … has been left alone without her partner for life. Now she lives alone in their home full of memories that she cannot forget,” she said. “At first, I was very angry at you. But God helped to suppress this anger with forgiveness.”
“I feel in my heart to hug you very tight so you can feel my forgiveness, (but) especially my loss. But I know it’s not allowed,” Tinajero continued.
She spoke for two minutes before Medrano surprisingly asked: “Ma’am, would it truly bring you peace and comfort and healing to hug him?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitating.
Then, Tinajero approached the man who killed her brother, and embraced him.
***
The names of all the people who were taken that day are:
Andre Anchondo
Jordan Anchondo
Arturo Benavides
Jorge Calvillo Garcia
Guillermo Garcia
Leonardo Campos
Angelina Englisbee
Maria Flores
Raul Flores
Adolfo Cerros Hernandez
Alexander Hoffmann
David Johnson
Luis Alfonso Juarez
Maria Legarreta Rothe
Maribel Loya Hernandez
Ivan Filiberto Manzano
Gloria Irma Marquez
Elsa Mendoza Marquez
Margie Reckard
Sara Regalado Monreal
Javier Amir Rodriguez
Teresa Sanchez
Juan Velasquez
