SAN ANTONIO — The sentencing phase of the Otis McKane trial continued into the second day Wednesday after he was convicted in the killing of an SAPD detective, Benjamin Marconi, in late 2016.
Just hours after Detective Benjamin Marconi was shot and killed in his patrol car, phone records belonging to now-convicted murderer Otis McKane, reveal a variety of internet searches related to the incident.
The state and defense legal teams engaged in a hearing Wednesday morning to discuss the data extracted from the defendant's mobile phone. Data included Google searches pertaining to gun disassembly and social media posts surrounding Marconi’s death.
McKane’s phone data revealed the accessing of a tweet from at-the-time San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor expressing her condolences to the officer who lost his life.
Multiple internet-based photos and video clips of Glock pistols were found within the phone data as well. The defense requested to review the phone records, before going before a jury with the witness describing the contents.
As a result, the McKane trial will continue Monday at 9 a.m.
The bailiff elbowed in the face by McKane minutes after the guilty verdict was returned Monday found himself on the witness stand Tuesday. McKane was found guilty of shooting and killing Marconi while he was conducting a traffic stop on Nov. 20, 2016.
Monday's decision came after more than 50 witnesses and 10 days of emotional testimony since the start of the trial and two weeks of the prosecution presenting its case.
McKane was convicted of killing Marconi in an ambush-style attack outside of San Antonio Police headquarters in November 2016. McKane confessed to interrogators, saying he was angry with the police for not helping with his custody battle.
Bexar County Deputy Isidro Gonzalez was assigned to serve as bailiff of the 379th Criminal District Court four years ago and his contact with McKane goes back to the days of jury selection in March of 2020.
The deputy testified before the court, saying he never had an issue with McKane prior to Monday when the defendant attacked him after Judge Ron Rangel announced the verdict.
Gonzalez and fellow Deputy Jason Jarvis told the jury they suspected McKane was getting ready for a fight after he began unbuttoning his shirt and undoing his tie.
