Detective testifies on untested swabs, phones and surveillance as State rests in McIntyre capital-murder case

A lead detective for the San Antonio Police Department told jurors the investigation into the April 2017 death of Mark Salvador included surveillance video, a 9mm shell casing found at the scene and multiple pieces of evidence collected from a damaged four‑door Kia, but that some forensic samples were never submitted for laboratory testing.

The testimony came during the State's presentation at the 187th District Court before Judge Stephanie Boyd in a case filed as 2019 CR 12/1995, State v. (T)am(ar) McIntyre. Sergeant Lou Juarez, the primary investigative witness, described a sequence of interviews, storage and lab requests spanning several jurisdictions and years and said prosecutors later filed capital murder charges against Tamor (Tamar) McIntyre after the case file was assembled.

Why it matters: Jurors heard both the physical evidence chain and the investigative choices that preceded charging decisions. Defense attorneys argued those choices left critical gaps—unprocessed DNA swabs, delayed ballistics and a partly unreadable SD card—that they say undercut proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Juarez described taking statements, obtaining search warrants, and sending items to outside specialists. He testified that investigators recovered a 9mm shell casing near Salvador’s body, surveillance footage showing a vehicle and a man on a vehicle hood, a phone extracted from the front-passenger area of the car, and a damaged SD card recovered from a later-staged parking lot.

On the decision not to submit certain serology swabs for laboratory analysis, Juarez testified, “I made the decision not to submit them. I felt that, you know, with the evidence that I had ... it wouldn't change anything.” He told the court he weighed the investigative value of TouchDNA or other testing against other corroborative evidence gathered from witnesses and physical items.

Juarez also testified that a pistol seized in Dallas and later sent to Bexar County did not match the bullet evidence available when he filed the case. He said the ballistics comparison from the firearm recovered from another suspect arrived after the capital-murder filings and was not part of his charging decision.

The detective described attempts to recover data from a damaged SD card. He said the card was sent to a video-forensics unit outside Texas; that unit reported it could not extract usable data. He also said some swabs collected at the scenes were not submitted to the crime lab for processing.

The State introduced recorded jail calls the prosecution said were made by the defendant while in custody. Luis Lopez, a field technician and custodian of records for Inmate Calling Solutions, testified about the jail's recording system and that four calls on a disc marked as a State exhibit were “a fair and accurate depiction” of those recordings.

The victim’s mother, Lucia Saldivar, testified about her son and identified photographs admitted into evidence. She described him as “a good son” who pursued photography; the court admitted photographs of the victim over a defense objection.

Defense lawyers pressed for a directed verdict, arguing the State had not proved key elements: who fired the fatal shot, which person was in the front passenger seat at the time of the shooting, and whether a robbery—an element the State says elevates the charge to capital murder—was established beyond a reasonable doubt. Judge Stephanie Boyd denied the motion.

The court set additional scheduling and the State announced it had rested its case. The defense indicated it expects to call witnesses and the court warned both sides that the trial schedule could require long sessions to complete testimony and charge preparation.

Ending: The trial will continue with the defense case; jurors will reconvene according to the court’s calendar for additional witness testimony and the eventual charge conference.