FILE – In this Aug. 3, 2019, file photo, several law enforcement agencies respond to an active shooter at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The suspect in the mass shooting was indicted Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, for capital murder. Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas, was indicted in connection with the Aug. 3 mass shooting that left 22 dead. He is jailed without bond. (Mark Lambie/The El Paso Times via AP, File)
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The judge presiding over the case of a man accused of killing 22 people at an El Paso Walmart has recused herself, saying she knew one of those killed.
State District Judge Angie Juárez Barill announced her recusal from the capital murder case of Patrick Crusius in a statement issued Wednesday, a week after her assignment to the case.
She also noted that her term of office ends in December 2020 since she’s running for chief justice of the 8th Texas Court of Appeals and not her present seat. She said the case could go to a judge reasonably sure of seeing it through to completion.
The 21-year-old Crusius, of Allen, Texas, remains jailed without bond charged with capital murder of multiple persons. Prosecutors say they’ll seek the death penalty.
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