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Lead detective testifies that surveillance and a license‑plate trace tied an SUV to defendant; search warrant executed
Summary
Detective Mark Waits told the jury he found shell casings and blood at the Windsor Drive scene, recovered a DVR, and traced a suspect SUV via surveillance to a license plate that records show later was sold to Marco A. Moreno Vasquez; a search warrant for a Kimberly Lane address was obtained and investigators recovered a firearm for lab submission.
Detective Mark Anthony Waits, testifying for the state, described the homicide scene at 7718 Winsford/Windsford Drive and the investigative steps that followed. The detective said he arrived on scene at roughly 10:04 p.m., observed multiple shell casings in the driveway and blood in the carport area, and recovered a DVR from a home surveillance system.
After reviewing footage from multiple cameras on neighboring homes and a pole cam maintained by the fire marshal's environmental unit, investigators identified a light‑colored SUV and a white pickup leaving the area immediately after the shooting. Detective Waits testified the surveillance provided clear frames that permitted a license‑plate still to be captured; those screenshots were admitted into evidence as state exhibits and published to the jury without objection.
Using vehicle‑registration databases, the detective testified that the license plate was associated with an owner named Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo and that records showed the vehicle later had been sold to Marco Antonio Moreno Vasquez. Detectives then worked with Atascosa County to locate and transfer custody of Moreno Vasquez to Bexar County.
Detective Waits said investigators obtained a search warrant for 74 Kimberly Lane (signed by Judge Kristen Escobona at 4:59 p.m.) and executed the warrant; among items recovered was a firearm that was sent to the Bexar County laboratory for analysis. On cross‑examination, the detective acknowledged some device clocks were recorded in Zulu time and that certain technical conversions were based on training and available logs.
The detective concluded that the totality of the investigative work produced probable cause for arrest and that the case was submitted to the district attorney's office. The jury was excused for the day and ordered to return the next morning.
