Jurors see video of detective murder on first day of Otis McKane trial in San Antonio

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Security footage captured outside the public safety headquarters where a San Antonio police officer was shot in his patrol unit shows the suspect accused of killing him at the crime scene, prosecutors said.

The clips were part of the evidence presented on the opening day of the capital murder trial of Otis McKane, who is accused of killing San Antonio Police Detective Benjamin Marconi in November 2016.

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The video, according to the prosecution, shows McKane pulling over in his car behind Marconi’s unit, walking to the driver’s side window of the unit and firing two shots into the police car.

Another clip shows the suspect entering headquarters after the incident.

The 379th District Court where the trial is taking place was packed and the atmosphere dark and tense, with members of Marconi’s family present.

Prosecutor Tamara Strauch delivered the state’s opening statement, giving the jury a timeline of evidence that will be presented during the trial.

Strauch told jurors that Marconi “never saw it coming” and “had no chance to react” when he was shot twice in the head from behind.

“” It felt good to shoot him. “Those words came out of this defendant’s mouth,” Strauch told jurors about what McKane told police as he was tapped at the magistrate’s office detention center after being arrested for the shooting. .

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The prosecutor said several witnesses to the shooting will speak at the trial. One of them is Ricky Martinez, the motorist that Marconi stopped outside the public security headquarters moments before the officer was shot.

“Ricky says he gets out of his car, he walks over to the officer and asks Detective Marconi if ​​he’s okay.” And Detective Marconi can’t answer, ”Strauch told jurors.

Other witnesses scheduled to testify are Alexandria and Jennifer Patterson, a mother and daughter from Luling who Strauch said witnessed the shooting.

“They will tell you that they heard gunshots. Alexandria will tell you that she saw the shooter. The shooter then runs and gets into his vehicle, the black car and takes off, ”Strauch said.

Strauch also told jurors what McKane told reporters as he was escorted by police before being transferred to the magistrate’s office. The reporter asked McKane why he said it was Marconi’s fault that McKane couldn’t see his son.

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“‘I have been through several custody battles, and I was upset by the situation, and I went after someone who did not deserve it. I am sorry,” Strauch said, quoting McKane on the occasion. of his opening statement of one hour and three minutes.

The defense chose not to make an opening statement and conducted very little cross-examination, but disputed some of the 911 calls presented as evidence. One call they disputed was a call made the day after a man was shot and recognized McKane and his vehicle. The defense claimed the call was not an emergency 911 call and was hearsay. Justice Ron Rangel has ruled that this appeal could be reconsidered when this witness speaks.

Another 911 call came from a witness who reported the shooting.

Auditor: “It’s in Santa Rosa and Nueva, (inaudible) … a man has just shot a cop.” “

Police dispatcher: “A man? Did you say a man just shot a cop?

Caller: “Yeah”

Another video that was shown to the jury was of the on-board camera of Marconi’s SAPD vehicle.

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The defense initially objected to the video being released, saying that since the video was from Marconi’s last shift, the state could not choose which parts to show at the public hearing. Rangel dismissed the defense objection and the video was released.

The video was taken from a camera angle that showed one looking from the front of Marconi’s vehicle. The video shows the vehicle that Marconi had stopped and a few minutes later people were running towards the vehicle after the shooting.

One of the witnesses to appear on Monday was Kevin Wilkinson, who was working at the front desk at Public Safety headquarters when Marconi was killed.

Wilkinson, a duty officer for SAPD, testified that McKane entered the building that morning and wanted to file a report because he had not seen his son for some time. McKane left when an officer was not immediately available to take the report.

Wilkinson testified that he could not identify a suspect from a series of photos on the morning of the shooting, but was able to do so the next day.

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This is the largest criminal trial in Bexar County since the jury trials reopened after the pandemic in March 2020. The trial marks the first death penalty case in more than five years in Bexar County.

Marconi was 50 years old, a father and a grandfather, and had been in the police force for over 20 years when he was killed. He worked in the Special Unit for Victims Investigating Domestic Violence Cases.

The trial will resume Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. and is expected to last about two weeks.

In addition to Strauch, the prosecution team includes attorneys Mario Del Prado and Jessica Schulze. The defense team is made up of lawyers Raymond Fuchs, Joel Perez and Daniel De La Garza.