Several high-profile criminal cases set to be tried in San Antonio in early 2020

Cases of an accused cop killer, accused baby killer, accused serial rapist on trial dockets

SAN ANTONIO – Glancing at the list of cases set for trial in early 2020, Administrative District Court Judge Ron Rangel said that the first month or so of the new year will be challenging.

“When we have cases that stack up, it does present somewhat of a problem,” Rangel said Thursday.

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The case of “Killer Nurse” Genene Jones, who has already served a life sentence for the death of an infant in the ’80s, is set for trial in January in the death of another infant.

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The trial of Anton Harris, the accused Medical Center rapist, is also set for this month.

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Jury selection is expected to begin in January for Otis McKane, who is facing capital murder charges in the execution-style slaying of veteran San Antonio Police Detective Ben Marconi.

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales has said that he will seek the death penalty for McKane.

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The lineup, Judge Rangel said, could mean scheduling problems.

“Judges play nice with each other,” Rangel said. “We want to make sure that we work together as a group.”

Aside from judges, staffing is another issue.

“Typically with high-profile cases, there are very few prosecutors that handle these cases,” Rangel said. “There are also very few defense attorneys who handle these cases.”

Gonzales, who just completed his first year in office, said his office is ready for the challenge.

“We intend to be ready on everything as it comes to trial,” he said. "Obviously, a challenge that we have in our office is that we have to work within our budget constraints. I wish we had more prosecutors and investigators, but we have to work with what we have.”


About the Authors:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.

Misael started at KSAT-TV as a photojournalist in 1987.