Trial resumes in detective’s slaying
Jury selection renewed in case of 20-year officer killed in ’16
After several postponements, jury selection resumed Monday for the long-delayed capital murder trial of a San Antonio man accused of shooting a police detective nearly five years ago.
Otis Tyrone Mckane, 36, is charged with killing Detective Benjamin Marconi, 50, a 20-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department.
Marconi was working an overtime shift on patrol Nov. 20, 2016, and had pulled over a motorist shortly before noon in front of Public Safety Headquarters downtown when he was shot in his vehicle.
State District Judge Ron Rangel said the individual interviews of potential jurors will be held — one person at a time — in the Central Jury Room, which seats more than 600 people. He said social distancing and face coverings would continue to be required.
“We will let the grand jury continue to meet in there from 9 to noon, clean everything each day, and voir dire (in the Mckane case) will be from 1-5,” Rangel said.
The killing of Marconi by a man who approached him on foot from behind as he sat in his patrol SUV writing a traffic citation, shocked the community.
Video footage taken from a security camera at police headquarters captured Mckane at the building before the attack. The next day, Mckane was spotted again, this time at an entrance to the Bexar County Courthouse, where he had gone to get married.
Authorities arrested him about 28 hours after Marconi’s death. Mckane told police he was upset about a child custody battle and lashed out at the first officer he saw.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys were about two weeks into the jury selection process in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which halted inperson court proceedings, including jury service.
Jury selection picked back up in December with safety protocols in place, but was halted again as COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths spiked locally.
“We will pick up where we left off in early December,” Rangel said.
So far, prosecutors Tamara Strauch, Mario Del Prado and Jessica Schulze, along with defense attorneys Raymond Fuchs, Joel Perez and Daniel De La Garza, have chosen eight people among the pool. The goal is to seat 12 jurors and two alternates for a trial to be held at a later date.
On Monday, five potential jurors were interviewed, but no new panelists were chosen. Another five are expected to be questioned Tuesday, followed by eight on Wednesday, four on Thursday and four on Friday, Rangel said.
Capital murder is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole, or death. Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales is seeking the death penalty.