Texas man pleads not guilty to killing 2, including officer

MCKINNEY (AP) — A 28-year-old Texas man pleaded not guilty during the first day of his capital murder trial for the 2018 killings of a Dallas-area police officer and another man.

Brandon McCall entered the plea Monday to charges that he fatally shot of his friend, Rene Gamez II, and then killed Richardson police officer David Sherrard, KXAS-TV reports. If convicted, McCall could be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

Police have said McCall killed Gamez, 30, in an apartment complex in the suburb north of Dallas and then shot Sherrard in the chest as he entered the apartment after responding to reports of shooting. The 37-year-old officer was a married father of two daughters and later died at a hospital.

McCall barricaded himself in the apartment after the shooting and fired at random during an hours-long standoff before a officers arrested him.

Lawyers for McCall acknowledged he shot Sherrard but said it was unintentional, according to KXAS-TV. On Monday, jurors were shown body camera video of the moment the shooting.

Police have described the killing as an ambush. According to an affidavit McCall said during a phone call from jail that he “wanted to go to war with the police”.

In addition to the murder charges, McCall is facing seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.