Editor’s note: The El Paso Times is publishing Patrick Crusius’ photo today because it marks the first time he has made a public appearance and spoken publicly since his arrest in the Aug. 3 mass shooting at an East El Paso Walmart.

Patrick Crusius, a 21-year-old white man from Allen, Texas, pleaded not guilty in court Thursday in the killing of 22 people in the Aug. 3 mass shooting at an East El Paso Walmart.

The attack is the seventh deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history and the third deadliest in Texas. Twenty-five people also were wounded.

The court appearance was among the most notorious in El Paso history. The most comparable case was the arraignment of convicted serial killer David Leonard Wood on July 25, 1990.

Crusius, who is accused of using an AK-47-style rifle in the attack, allegedly told authorities after his arrest that he intended to kill as many Mexicans as possible and reportedly posted a white-supremacist manifesto online shortly before opening fire, officials have said.

Federal authorities say he could face hate crimes prosecution for what they have labeled an act of domestic terrorism.

He made his way into the El Paso County Ceremonial Courtroom on Thursday with a stoic face and in a suit. It appeared he had a haircut before the hearing. Although he was in a suit, he did not have a tie.

'Not guilty' plea explained

Crusius answered the judge directly when asked if his name was correct on the court documents and said he did not want to hear the charges read against him. When asked, he said his plea was "not guilty."

His plea immediately sparked a firestorm of outrage online.

However, a legal expert said the not guilty plea should have been expected.

Gerald Reamey, a professor of law at St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, said: “What people need to remember about an arraignment when they hear that the defendant has appeared and entered a not guilty plea is that not guilty doesn’t mean ‘I didn’t do it.’ A not guilty plea means, ‘I am not admitting anything and I demand that the state of Texas carry its burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that I did what is charged.” And that’s an important thing people sometimes get wrong.”

While many people appear at arraignment in chains and a jail jumpsuit, Crusius appeared unchained, clean shaven and wearing a suit.

Defendants out on bond typically can appear in suits. Defense attorneys can request that their clients who are jailed, as Crusius is, be allowed to appear unchained and in suits or other dress or business clothes.

Crusius appearance in court Thursday was his first public appearance in the more than two months since his arrest by authorities at the intersection of Viscount Boulevard and Sunmount Drive — only a short distance from the shooting site in the Cielo Vista area.

During his arraignment, Crusius stood in front of Judge Sam Medrano of the 409th state District Court.

Medrano asked him, "Sir, you are Patrick Wood Crusius, the defendant in this case?"

Crusius responded, "Yes, your honor."

The judge then told him to raise his right hand and swear to tell nothing but the truth, "so help you God."

The judge also asked Crusius whether he was pronouncing his name correctly. He told the judge he was.

The judge told him he was charged by indictments with the offense of capital murder of multiple persons and asked Crusius to look at the indictment and make sure his true, full, complete name was on the indictments.

"Yes, sir, it is," Crusius replied.

The judge asked for Crusius' plea.

After the defendant said not guilty, the judge said he had entered a plea of not guilty on Crusius' behalf and set a status hearing in a conference setting for 2 p.m. Nov. 7.

Medrano then adjourned the arraignment hearing.

Crusius is not expected to attend that hearing.

El Paso County District Attorney Jaime Esparza, who is seeking the death penalty, declined to comment afterward.

Crusius' attorneys won't discuss change of venue

Crusius' attorneys, Mark Stevens of San Antonio and Joe Spencer of El Paso, told the news media after the hearing that they will not answer questions about moving the trial out of El Paso.

Stevens is asking the public to keep an open mind about the case until “both sides of the story” are told in the courtroom.

“As they say, there are two sides to every story. And there are two sides to this story,” Stevens said. “It will be the job of Joe Spencer and myself and the rest of our team to make sure that the story of Patrick Crusius is told.”

Spencer said the El Paso community needs closure and healing. The quickest way to achieve both of those things is not through seeking the death penalty, he added.

"Mark and I will use every breathe we have to save Patrick's life," he said.

Before the arraignment, court officials had families of the victims enter through a separate line, with a metal detector set up outside the courtroom door. The families were brought in through a side room and were taken to the front of the security line, surrounded by court staff.

The court doors opened at 1 p.m. and the courtroom quickly filled up.

The arraignment, as most court proceedings are, was open to the public, and a few members of the public came to watch.

Antonio Lopez, 60, said he had never seen an arraignment before and decided to attend after hearing about it on the morning news. The chef was still in his distinctive work clothes.

“I just wanted to see how he carried himself, how he walked in, what he was going to say, his voice, his demeanor. I just wanted to see this young man who's impacted our community so heavily,” Lopez said, becoming choked up as he spoke.

Lopez, a Dallas native who has lived in El Paso for the past 35 years, said he lives Downtown, just blocks from the courthouse.

“At night I go to bed and I’ve been thinking, ‘Where is this young man?’ " Lopez said.

"And I look out my window and I see the federal courthouse and this building, and it’s been on my mind all this time that this young man has been just blocks away from me physically, and I guess that had a lot to do with it," he said. "Just every day, thinking of this young man here, and I just wanted to come and see how this works.”

A woman who declined to give her name came to watch the arraignment with her husband but wasn’t let in because 20 minutes before 2 p.m., the courtroom already was full. They stayed outside the courtroom and watched a livestream of the proceeding off a reporter’s phone.

“I think it’s something that affects all of us,” she said of what brought her to the courthouse.

After the arraignment, families of the victims were ushered out through a side door. Journalists were not allowed to photograph them in the courtroom.

Officials from the Mexican Consulate in El Paso also attended the arraignment. Authorities said eight Mexican nationals were killed in the attack.

Mayor Dee Margo said the community cannot heal until justice is served and "he pays for the hate he brought into our city."

"There is overwhelming evidence proving his guilt," Margo said. "I want him prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Today's arraignment is the first step in the long process of securing justice for El Paso."

The arraignment originally was scheduled for Wednesday but was rescheduled due to a conflict in scheduling for his attorney.

Aaron Montes may be reached at 915-546-6137; amontes@elpasotimes.com; @aaronmontes91 on Twitter.

Molly Smith may be reached at 915-546-6413; mksmith@elpasotimes.com; @smithmollyk on Twitter.

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