A Texas man elbowed a bailiff attempting to handcuff him after the man was convicted of killing a San Antonio police detective.
Jurors deliberated about 25 minutes Monday before convicting Otis McKane, 40, of capital murder in the November 2016 fatal shooting of Detective Benjamin Marconi. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against McKane. The trial’s punishment phase began Tuesday afternoon.
A bailiff was trying to handcuff McKane when McKane elbowed him in the face before several officers pushed him into an adjacent room.
District Attorney Joe Gonzales and defense attorney Joel Perez declined to comment on the outburst. Gonzales said the bailiff was not seriously injured. In fact, the bailiff, Bexar County sheriff’s Deputy Isidro Gonzalez, was the first witness prosecutors called to testify afterward.
Gonzalez said he noticed McKane removing his necktie, unbuttoning his shirt and untucking his shirttail after the guilty verdict was read.
“I had a feeling that he was going to fight us,” Gonzalez testified. “Because he was taking off his clothes.”
Marconi was fatally shot as he sat in his patrol car during a traffic stop that did not involve McKane, authorities said.
McKane, as he was being taken to jail following the shooting, told reporters that he “lashed out at someone who didn’t deserve it” because he was upset with the court system. McKane said he was angry because he had not been allowed to see his son during a custody battle.
Perez argued that Marconi had sent and received personal text messages moments before the traffic stop and was not officially on duty. Therefore, McKane could not be charged with capital murder and be eligible for the death penalty.
The Associated Press contributed to this article