EL PASO — A Texas judge wants to wait and see if the federal government will seek the death penalty against the alleged gunman in the 2019 racist massacre at a local Walmart before weighing a trial on state charges.
More than three years after 23 people were killed while shopping, state District Judge Sam Medrano said Tuesday that it’s more appropriate to wait until January, when the federal prosecution is expected to decide if it will seek to execute the accused attacker, before he makes decisions on how to proceed with Texas’ capital murder case.
“Depending on the outcome of the federal government’s decision, we would be in a better position to determine whether or not scheduling orders, or a tentative trial or even a permanent trial date should be made on the state’s side,” Medrano said from the bench Tuesday at a status hearing on the state’s case against the alleged shooter.
