Witness in Bexar County trial says defendant produced gun and shot photographer in Chick-fil-A parking lot

Joanna Reyes, a 27-year-old hairstylist from San Antonio, testified in Bexar County's 187th District Court that during a drive to a planned photo shoot in April 2017 the defendant produced a firearm, demanded a backpack and later shot Mark Anthony Saldivar in a Chick-fil-A parking lot.

Reyes told jurors she and others picked up Saldivar and were driving toward North Star Mall when, at a traffic light on McCullough Avenue, “Timor took out his gun and pointed it at Mark and asked for his bag.” She testified that Saldivar refused, that the group began hitting him and “the 1 time I didn’t look back, but when I did, I saw his face and I started telling them to let him go. And I just kept screaming, ‘Let him go.’” Reyes said the struggle continued at the Chick-fil-A parking lot and that the person she later identified in court as the defendant “opened the door and shot him.” (All quotes above are Reyes’s testimony.)

The testimony formed part of the state’s case against the defendant in case 2019CR12495, which the court captioned as State v. Tamar McIntyre. During direct examination, Reyes described who was in the vehicle (she said she was driving; the defendant sat in the front passenger seat; others named included Jaylen Bell and Jeremiah Rodriguez), what each person carried (She identified Saldivar’s white Canon camera and a bag), and the sequence of stops after the shooting: the group stopped at a Mexican restaurant where Reyes said people were “going through the backpack and then also going through his wallet,” then to a Starbucks and later to a residence identified as Jeremiah Rodriguez’s house.

Reyes also testified about her own legal status and a plea agreement she signed. She said she entered a plea on Dec. 18, 2018, to tampering with evidence — an offense she described on the record as carrying a punishment range of two to 10 years and a possible fine up to $10,000 — and that the state agreed to dismiss a pending capital-murder charge as part of the agreement. On cross-examination, the defense explored details of the plea, including paragraph 9 of the agreement, which Reyes acknowledged included a provision the state described for adjusting a 10-year deferred recommendation to reflect time the defendant spent on bond. Reyes testified she had been on bond “almost eight years” at the time of her testimony and described the state’s recommendation to the court as a 10-year deferred adjudication.

Throughout Reyes’s testimony, the court received and published multiple exhibits the prosecution offered as demonstrative or physical evidence. The judge admitted a number of state exhibits over defense objections; the transcript records the admission of State’s Exhibit 117 (a certified court document) and later batches admitted as State’s Exhibits 119, 120, 121–127, 128–131 and others (admitted rulings and exhibit numbers are recorded in the court minutes). The judge also overruled and sustained a range of defense objections during testimony and instructed jurors at times to disregard specific answers when required by the rules of evidence.

Reyes described post-incident movements and statements she attributed to others at the scene, for example saying two people exchanged celebratory gestures and one of them told another, “you caught your first body,” while they were at the Mexican restaurant. She also reported statements she attributed to the defendant about items taken from Saldivar’s backpack and wallet. The court sustained objections to certain hearsay and confrontation-prone lines of questioning; the transcript shows the judge repeatedly instructed the jury to disregard specific testimony when counsel’s objections were sustained.

The trial record shows the prosecution used Reyes to identify photos and physical items recovered from the vehicle and the scene; Reyes identified multiple exhibits as her possessions or as items she observed on the offense date. Defense counsel cross-examined Reyes at length about her prior statements to police, the circumstances of her plea agreement and the incentives created by deferred-adjudication terms. On cross-examination, Reyes acknowledged she initially told police the vehicle was stolen and later said she had been directed to say that; the court sustained objections and instructed the jury to disregard several hearsay answers during that line of questioning.

Judge Stephanie Boyd, presiding in the 187th District Court, managed evidentiary disputes, ruled on admissibility and directed the jury regarding excluded testimony. The court recessed the jury for the day and instructed that proceedings would resume the following day at scheduled times recorded in the transcript.

Why it matters: Reyes’s testimony links several defendants and witnesses to the vehicle, to the post-shooting handling of Saldivar’s belongings, and to statements and actions the state says are relevant to the underlying homicide prosecution. The plea agreement and the explicit incentives tied to Reyes’s cooperation were the subject of extensive cross-examination, which the defense highlighted when questioning her credibility and motive to testify.

The case continues; the transcript shows the court scheduled the next session and directed counsel to prepare stipulated matters and video evidence for the jury’s review.