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San Antonio Police Arrest Suspect, 31, In Fatal Shooting Of Police Detective

5:30 p.m. UPDATE

San Antonio Police have arrested a man in connection to the fatal shooting on Sunday of Detective Benjamin Marconi. Police Chief William McManus says he is the man seen in a surveillance video taken at police headquarters near the shooting.

McManus said they made a capital arrest of 31-year-old Otis Tyrone McKane. He was driving a white car at F.M. 1516 and Interstate 10 with a woman and a 2-year-0ld child. He was taken into custody without incident.

Earlier Story:

San Antonio police have released video of a man they’re calling a suspect in the shooting death Sunday of 50-year-old Detective Benjamin Marconi.

Police Chief William McManus said Monday morning that the man shown on surveillance camera video entered San Antonio Police Department headquarters around 7:45 a.m. Sunday, four hours before Marconi was ambushed during a traffic stop. “I don’t know why he was in headquarters,” McManus said. “We have some ideas why we believe he may have been in headquarters but, we’re not quite sure. There’s several motives that we’re looking at.”

 

A reporter at the Monday morning news conference asked, “In that video, he leaned down and said something over the intercom that allowed him access, do you know what he said to the person on the other end?”

 

McManus replied, “I do, but I’m not going to reveal that right now. We don’t know that that really plays into the investigation. I’m not going to put out too many details on that.”

 

The chief described the suspect as a black man in his 20s, about 5-feet-8-inches to 6-feet tall.

Police say the suspect was driving a black Mitsubishi sedan when he pulled in behind Marconi’s squad car on a street near police headquarters.  Marconi had stopped a separate vehicle on a traffic violation. He was still sitting in his squad car when the Mitsubishi’s driver walked to the passenger side and shot the detective in the head twice.

Marconi was taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center where he was declared dead.

Chief McManus says the detective's dash camera may offer more clues. Another reporter asked, “What can be seen on the dash board cam, Chief, if anything?”

 

McManus replied, “A lot of things.”

 

The reporter asked, “Audio and video?”

 

To which McManus said, “I’m not going to go into that part. There’s a lot of information on the dash cam video is all I’ll say.”

 

McManus says the driver pulled over for the traffic stop was questioned but is not believed to be involved with the shooting. He also said until the suspect is arrested, officers will patrol two to a car. 

 

Federal and state law enforcement authorities are assisting San Antonio police in the manhunt and investigation.

McManus says he and officers “absolutely feel targeted,” and “the uniform was the target.”

Marconi  served 20 years on the police force and was most recently working in the Special Victims Unit investigating sex crimes. He leaves behind two adult children.

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Screen grabs of the surveillance video showing the suspect wanted in Sunday's fatal shooting of Det. Benjamin Marconi.
Aaron Schrank / Texas Public Radio
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Texas Public Radio
Screen grabs of the surveillance video showing the suspect wanted in Sunday's fatal shooting of Det. Benjamin Marconi.

SAPD is seeking this Mitsubishi sedan spotted on video leaving the area of the fatal shooting.
Aaron Schrank / Texas Public Radio
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Texas Public Radio
SAPD is seeking this Mitsubishi sedan spotted on video leaving the area of the fatal shooting.

Shelley Kofler is Texas Public Radio’s news director. She joined the San Antonio station in December 2014 and leads a growing staff that produces two weekly programs; a daily talk show, news features, reports and online content. Prior to TPR, Shelley served as the managing editor and news director at KERA in Dallas-Fort Worth, and the Austin bureau chief and legislative reporter for North Texas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV.
Eileen Pace is a veteran radio and print journalist with a long history of investigative and feature reporting in San Antonio and Houston, earning more than 50 awards for investigative reporting, documentaries, long-form series, features, sports stories, outstanding anchoring and best use of sound.