Posted on 08/25/2015 4:56:07 AM PDT by don-o
Two separate grand juries will conduct investigations into the shootings that occurred outside a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco in May, according to McLennan County District Attorney Abelino "Abel" Reyna.
The shootings led to nine deaths and arrests of 170 bikers, charged with engaging in organized crime.
One grand jury will investigate the cases against the bikers, and another will investigate police officer use of deadly force, Reyna said.
Reyna commented about grand jury plans after Sam Bassett, the president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA), raised concerns about the composition of any grand jury scheduled to investigate the bikers' cases.
In an Aug. 4 letter addressed to a McLennan County district judge, the grand jury and Reyna, Bassett expressed his concerns about the possible presence of James Head, a Waco police detective, as the foreman of a grand jury that would evaluate the possible indictments of the arrested bikers.
"While we express no opinion as to detective James Head's personal ethics or integrity, we are greatly concerned that this grand jury should under no circumstances be the grand jury that considers indictments in the biker cases, especially since there are reports that he had some involvement in the investigatory process. TCDLA urges you to consider for this case a special grand jury that contains no members of law enforcement who are involved in the biker cases," Bassett wrote.
In response to Bassett's letter, Reyna said he has made "no representation either way" about the composition or timing of grand juries investigating the shootings. He only clarified one point: "Anytime you have a crime scene and there is an officer's use of deadly force, you have two investigations."
But two criminal defense lawyers—Susan Kelly of Waco, who monitors the bikers' prosecutions for the TCDLA, and Paul Looney of Houston and Hempstead, who represents three defendants—both said they understood from prosecutors that the grand jury with the Waco police officer serving as foreman would not hear the bikers' cases.
Kelly said she doesn't expect any grand jury convened before October to hear the bikers' cases. Although she has not received a commitment from the county officials that no member of the law enforcement will be on the grand jury that does hear the bikers' case, Kelly said: "Odds are that it won't happen again."
Looney agreed. Twice, a prosecutor has told him that the grand jury with the Waco police officer as foreman would not hear his clients' cases, Looney said.
On Aug. 17, two of Looney's clients, a biker and his wife, received an unfavorable ruling from a visiting judge who is presiding over the bikers' initial pretrial hearings. Retired district judge James Morgan ruled that the evidence prosecutors presented so far is sufficient to create probable cause for the arrests of the two, and that he would allow a grand jury investigation for a possible indictment to go forward.
Morgan's ruling against those two defendants means that all of the biker defendants should expect their preliminary objections to their arrests to fail, and to prepare to face a grand jury and a possible trial, Looney said. At the Aug. 17 hearing, prosecutors presented "no evidence" for two different elements of the charges against his two clients, Looney said. But the judge nevertheless ruled that the prosecutors could proceed. Therefore, Looney concludes that Morgan will allow all the bikers' cases to go forward to a grand jury.
“Yet you post this verbiage as “FACTS”. “
Duh ... I clearly said “Suit says”.
“But you don’t KNOW whether he is or isn’t a medical examiner so why the attack?”
I know.
“lawsuit that two customers” . . .
. . . who, aren’t they. entitled to make their case and claim for the damages they suffered, based on any and all information available to them not only based on what they witnessed and experienced and any and all information available at the time they filed suit, but all information that comes available during discovery?
The waitresses were also inside, and their information was not worthless. For one thing they commented on looking out the windows. For another thing, there is the video that the AP viewed and summarized.
This is a civil suit which will have no bearing on the criminal trials of anyone. It cannot harm the bikers. It is a civil case which does not name the bikers, individually or as a corporate entity. Have no fear, the bikers are not named in this suit and cannot be harmed! Are you reassured yet?? It is information that we can evaluate. You evaluate it as worthless. OK, BUT . . .
At least be gracious enough to allow that these innocent victims have a right to redress, rather than interpreting their claim through the lens of what it means to the bikers, for Crying Out Loud, as Rush would say. Waco is not only about wrongful arrest of bikers. There are other victims, such as the dead and wounded and their families, and other victims such as these who deserve their day in Court, as well as any wrongfully arrested bikers deserve their day in Court.
My observation that, if it is not pro-biker, it is viewed by some commentators here, to be all lies and misinformation to be dismissed, makes me all the more motivated to stand up for the other victims of Waco that day. You are free to stand up for wrongfully arrested bikers. Shame on you for your attempt to discredit other victims. It is not . . . seemly.
Three previous lawsuits have been filed as a result of the Massacre: One of those pits the owners of the neighboring Don Carlos restaurant franchise against the Twin Peaks franchisor; a second is the dispute between the Twin Peaks franchisor and the franchisee; and the third is the dispute between the survivors of Jesus Delgado Rodriguez and the Twin Peaks franchisor and the franchisee.Another Waco Lawsuit | The Aging Rebel | August 25, 2015There is some dispute in all three of those suits about who the Waco Police notified that the biker gathering on May 17 was potentially dangerous, the urgency with which that warning was given and when the warning was made. On August 11, a Dallas court ruled that the three lawsuits then filed were related and would be tried together.
I would rephrase the "There is some dispute in all three of those suits" to something along the lines of the tree suits don't make identical allegations in those areas. Most a grammatical nit, in that none of the suits disputes itself, or even disputes the others.
I expect Twin Peaks to move that this fourth case be moved to Dallas, and consolidated with the other three.
I’d like to clarify there were actually 6 suits in Dallas. Four of those six were the Franchisor and Franchisee suing each other. It is these four suits that were consolidated into one.
Now three suits remain, which are, roughly styled to make it easier to understand,
Twin Peaks v Twin Peaks (Consolidated - 4 into 1)
Don Carlos v Twin Peaks
Biker Families v Twin Peaks
Much appreciate that. It makes more sense than consolidating suits of disparate plaintiffs. Although, I can see Twin Peaks moving to consolidate Patron v. Twin Peaks cases; if they can’t get them settled for reasonable amounts pre-trial.
Its standard procedure in McClellan County to convene a seperate investigation when an officer uses deadly force.
Kelly said she doesn't expect any grand jury convened before October to hear the bikers' cases. Although she has not received a commitment from the county officials that no member of the law enforcement will be on the grand jury that does hear the bikers' case, Kelly said: "Odds are that it won't happen again."
So...no Waco PD on the biker shootout grand jury and no biker shootout grand jury convened before October.
It isn't clear what that means. Does it mean a police investigation of the justification for use of force, plus a grand jury investigation? Or two grand jury investigations, one against the person shot and one against the officer shooter? In some cases, shootings by officers are investigated by Texas Rangers, adding another type of investigation to the mix of possible "separate investigations."
Is the McClennan County SOP book, at least the part that covers investigation of officer use of deadly force, available anywhere online?
“Is the McClennan County SOP book, at least the part that covers investigation of officer use of deadly force, available anywhere online? “
Previous Waco police lethal shootings have been by grand jury.
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