Brandon McCall, the man accused of fatally shooting Richardson police officer David Sherrard in February 2018 was found guilty of capital murder Wednesday afternoon.
After closing statements were made at about 10:45 a.m., the Collin County jury deliberated only a couple of hours before rendering their guilty verdict.
McCall, who pleaded not guilty on Monday, was accused of fatally shooting both Richardson police officer David Sherrard and Rene Gamez II, who he was staying with at the time, on Feb. 7, 2018. Lawyers for McCall acknowledged he shot Sherrard, but said it was unintentional.
McCall was charged with capital murder for Sherrard's death and murder for Gamez's death. He will be tried for the death of Gamez at a later date.
A capital murder conviction in Texas comes with one of two punishments, either the death penalty or life in prison without parole. The Collin County District Attorney said they would be seeking the death penalty for McCall; sentencing will be held next week.
Investigators said McCall shot Gamez, 30, inside his apartment and then shot Sherrard twice as he responded to the "shots fired" call. Sherrard was shot twice in what a prosecutor described in court Tuesday as an ambush.
McCall was hospitalized after the incident and an officer who arrested McCall at his hospital bed wore a body camera. That footage was shown to the jury Tuesday.
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"You killed a cop tonight," the officer was heard saying to McCall. Footage showed McCall deny it and say "No, nothing was wrong" and then cry. The officer testified in court Tuesday and told the jury that he believed it was all an act.
The prosecutor showed the jury Sherrard's bloody uniform shirt and ballistic vest.
Sherrard's family and friends who were sitting in court Tuesday were audibly upset, sniffling and gasping as the prosecutors showed the jurors the shirt Sherrard wore that day.
Investigators found three weapons (a rifle and two shotguns) inside the room where they believe McCall opened fire on police.
Sherrard did not fire his weapon during the incident, the investigator testified. Sherrard was shot with two rifle rounds: "center mass" or the center of his body, and at point-blank range.
Day 1 Testimony in Murder Trial
On Monday, prosecutors said the first shot ricocheted off Sherrard's body camera and the second shot ricocheted off his microphone before it struck him in the chest.
On the stand, fellow officers said they didn't know at the time how bad Sherrard was injured. Jurors watched body camera video, showing what led to the shooting and the moment Sherrard was shot.
Officers testified they hid in the kitchen during a gun battle with McCall. One officer said he saw McCall staring down the scope of his rifle "hunting" for his next target.
After Sherrard was shot, an hours-long standoff and shootout ensued.
The SWAT team would use more than 60 rounds of tear gas before McCall surrendered.
Officers said they used Sherrard's handcuffs to arrest McCall to symbolically take Sherrard's killer into custody, Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye said.
Sherrard, 37, was a 14-year veteran of the Richardson Police Department.
