UPDATE (12:51 p.m.):  A hard deadline has been set on whether or not the death penalty will be an option for Victor Godinez.

The judge told the state that by next February, a decision needs to be made about whether or not the death penalty will be on the table.

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EDINBURG – The man charged with killing DPS Trooper Moises Sanchez will be back in court for a pre-trial hearing Thursday.

It's been over a month since he plead not guilty to his charges.

He's been jailed since his arrest in April following the shooting that happened after a crash in Edinburg.

Trooper Moises Sanchez responded to the accident and tracked Godinez down, when he was shot.

Godinez was later arrested by Edinburg police; he fired at them as well but neither was hit.

Trooper Sanchez survived the shooting but passed away due to complications of surgery in August.

A grand jury upgraded charges against Godinez to one count of capital murder, and two counts of attempted capital murder.

Godinez has been jailed on a $3 million bond.