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  • THERON RHOTEN, et al.,Plaintiffs,v. BRENT STROMAN, MANUEL CHAVEZ, ABELINO “ABEL” REYNA, CITY OF WACO, TEXAS, McLENNAN COUNTY, TEXAS, ROBERT LANNING, JEFFREY ROGERS, PATRICK SWANTON, STEVEN SCHWARTZ, and CHRISTOPHER FROST,

    04/02/2020 2:18:30 PM PDT · by Elderberry · 18 replies
    Courthouse News ^ | 3/31/2020 | ALAN D ALBRIGHT
    Before the Court are: Defendants Frost and Schwartz’s Motion to Dismiss(ECF Nos. 57& 76);the City Defendants’ Joint Motion to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 58& 76);Defendants Reyna and McLennan County’s Motion to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 59& 78);and the respective responses, replies,and sur-replies thereto. The Court, having considered the Motions and applicable law,finds that the Motions should be DENIED or DENIED in PART and GRANTED in PART as discussed below. I. INTRODUCTION This case stems from the Twin Peaks restaurant incident on May 17, 2015.Members of the Bandidos and Cossacks Motorcycle Clubs, along with hundreds of other motorcycling enthusiasts,converged on the restaurant. Tensions...
  • New Information in the Waco Biker Case Shows 4 Died From Police Bullets

    12/15/2015 1:20:33 PM PST · by don-o · 18 replies
    Texas Standard ^ | December 15, 2015 | Rhonda Fanning
    May's deadly biker shootout in Waco reportedly left nine dead, many others wounded and more than 170 arrested. Since the shootout, there's been an ongoing legal battle. Until recently, there's been precious little to say further about this incident, with a few exceptions. A gag order has made the police version of events the only real version we've had to discuss. But thanks to thousands of pages of once court-protected documents leaked to the media, we now have new clues to what actually happened that day. Newly obtained evidence by the Associated Press reveals that four of the nine people...
  • Quanell X: Waco cops should admit shooting bikers

    12/14/2015 1:34:20 PM PST · by Elderberry · 15 replies
    blog.chron.com ^ | 12/14/2015 | Dane Schiller
    With word that Waco Police shot four of the bikers who died during the melee at outside the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco seven months ago comes the question: Why didn't authorities come clean months ago? Ballistics tests show that the four dead were shot with bullets from the same type of rifles used by Waco Police officers that Sunday in May. The Associated Press broke the story after reviewing restricted court documents that had been privately shared with defense attorneys by prosecutors. It is still unclear which officers --- fired their weapons and exactly why.---
  • Waco Sealed Indictments, The Real Story Directly From One of The 9

    11/16/2015 5:28:53 PM PST · by Elderberry · 11 replies
    motorcycleprofilingproject ^ | 11/16/2015 | David "Double D" Devereaux
    <p>There is a lot of speculation relating to the 9 sealed indictments among the 106 indictments handed down by the Waco Grand Jury last week. The MPP received the following message from one of the 9 individuals that may provide some clarity.</p>
  • Which bikers were shot by Waco Police? Six months later, mystery remains

    11/12/2015 9:36:28 AM PST · by don-o · 47 replies
    Houston Chronicle ^ | November 12, 2015 | Dane Schiller
    Even as the nation wrestles with fatal police shootings, one thing has been a constant: authorities share their version of events in a timely manner. It has been six months since the infamous biker melee at Twin Peaks in which nine people were killed, at least 18 wounded, and 177 arrested on charges of engaging in organized crime but the mystery remains: How many of the dead or wounded were shot by officers? Defense lawyers say the answer is not among of the reams of documents, photos, surveillance videos and autopsies they have been allowed to review in the case....
  • 106 Indictments Handed Down in Waco Twin Peaks Biker Shootout

    11/12/2015 6:09:52 AM PST · by don-o · 16 replies
    New York Times ^ | November 11. 2015 | DAVE MONTGOMERY
    AUSTIN - A biker shootout in Waco, Tex., that left nine people dead and nearly 20 wounded in May has resulted in 106 felony indictments, and Central Texas prosecutors say more indictments are likely in the protracted investigation. A total of 177 people were arrested in the shootout on May 17 at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, and the McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna served noticed that his office was poised to seek indictments against as many 71 others who were not named in the first round of indictments returned by a grand jury Tuesday. "This is just...
  • Understanding The Waco Grand Jury Indictments- Does The 1st Amendment Exist in Texas?

    11/12/2015 6:04:15 AM PST · by Elderberry · 14 replies
    Motorcycle Profiling Project ^ | 11/11/2015 | David "Double D" Devereaux
    The Waco Grand Jury indictments on 106 individuals for engaging in organized crime are not convictions. The Grand Jury only determines whether the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to indict. The Grand Jury only hears from the prosecutor, no defense attorneys are allowed, and does not make a determination on guilt. As examining trials made clear, the basis of the prosecutor’s argument in many of these case relies solely on an individual’s association with a motorcycle club that that had members accused of committing a crime on May 17th. These indictments based solely on association, particularly the cases where the prosecutor...
  • With Waco indictments, pressure on to make a deal

    11/12/2015 5:57:51 AM PST · by Elderberry · 43 replies
    Houston Chronicle ^ | 11/11/2015 | Dane Schiller
    The day after dozens of bikers were indicted after a deadly brawl in Waco, many of them are likely to be considering making a deal, experts said, potentially giving up their biker brothers when faced with a long prison sentence. Prosecutors in McLellan County indicted 106 bikers on Tuesday on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity, some six months after a melee at a Twin Peaks that left nine dead and at least 18 wounded. If convicted, they face the prospect of 15 years to life. Many of the bikers indicted likely didn't throw a punch or fire a...
  • 106 People Indicted in Waco Biker Brawl That Killed Nine (Waco)

    11/10/2015 6:51:16 PM PST · by don-o · 179 replies
    NBC ^ | November 10, 2015 | M. Alex Johnson
    A Texas grand jury returned indictments Tuesday against 106 of the 177 people who were arrested after a shootout between cops and members of two motorcycle clubs left nine people dead at a Waco restaurant in May. The McLennan County grand jury returned true bills accusing the 106 suspects of engaging in organized criminal activity, with the underlying offenses being murder and aggravated assault, District Attorney Abel Reyna said Tuesday night in Waco. Charges against the 71 other suspects weren't presented Tuesday but will be "at a later time," Reyna said.
  • Grand jury hearing Twin Peaks shootout evidence

    11/10/2015 2:44:58 PM PST · by Elderberry · 8 replies
    WacoTrib ^ | 11/10/2015 | TOMMY WITHERSPOON
    Update, 11:12 a.m.: Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Frazier entered the locked district attorney’s office and walked toward the grand jury chambers. He left a few minutes later and said on his way out that his presence had nothing to do with the grand jury. Original story: A McLennan County grand jury is considering evidence this morning from the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout that left nine bikers dead and 20 wounded. For the first time ever, the grand jury is meeting in a newly renovated room in the district attorney’s office on the fourth floor of the courthouse annex. The...
  • CNN video shows footage, crime scene photos of Twin Peaks melee

    10/29/2015 2:32:50 PM PDT · by don-o · 12 replies
    Waco Herald-Tribune ^ | October 29, 2015 | OLIVIA MESSER
    Despite months of failed media attempts to obtain video footage and crime scene photos of the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout that killed 9 men and injured another 20 people, CNN released video evidence Thursday. The footage is consistent with early police descriptions of weapons hidden between sacks of flour and bags of tortilla chips. They were allegedly in vehicles, tucked in benches, strewn across the floor, in kitchen stoves, thrown into trashcans and stuffed in toilets. Among the weapons and blood spatters were half-eaten burgers, beer bottles covered in gang-symbol koozies and half-drunk margaritas. CNN’s video footage shows men...
  • Surveillance video shows Waco biker shooting

    10/29/2015 9:53:43 AM PDT · by don-o · 66 replies
    CNN ^ | October 29, 2015
    Surveillance video from Waco, Texas, shows the shootout between police and biker clubs that ended with nine dead and 177 arrested in May.
  • Last jailed biker expected to be released after Twin Peaks melee [Waco]

    10/21/2015 10:47:03 AM PDT · by don-o · 41 replies
    Houston Chronicle ^ | October 21, 2015
    The last biker still behind bars over the deadly clash at the the Twin Peaks in Waco is expected to be released from jail Wednesday, his lawyer said. Marcus Pilkington and 176 others arrested had been held on $1 million bail a piece following the May melee that left nine people dead and 18 wounded. Everyone else had been able to either meet the bail amount of have their bail greatly reduced. The McLennan County District Attorney’s Office agreed to his bail being dropped to $50,000, which means Pilkington has to post 10 percent of that to be conditionally freed...
  • Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

    10/17/2015 11:44:12 AM PDT · by Elderberry · 25 replies
    The Aging Rebel ^ | 10/15/2015
    A grand jury convened in Waco yesterday morning. .) It will remain in session through the rest of 2015. It has already requested documents from the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents so, even though this is all top secret, there is an excellent chance this grand jury will decide which of the 177 people arrested after the Twin Peaks Massacre last May 17 will have to stand trial for “engaging in organized criminal activity.” .) The fact that so many apparently innocent people now find their fates in the hands of this grand jury raises a familiar question: Why...
  • Twin Peaks motorcycle group’s records subpoenaed as new grand jury seated ...

    10/15/2015 6:10:05 AM PDT · by don-o · 14 replies
    Waco Herald-Tribune ^ | October 15, 2015 | TOMMY WITHERSPOON
    McLennan County prosecutors subpoenaed the president of the Bandidos motorcycle gang’s Austin chapter to appear before a new grand jury that was seated Wednesday, but settled for his records from a motorcycle confederation instead. Jimmy Graves, a Bandido who also heads the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents, a coalition of motorcycle groups, was subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury and to bring COC&I documents, according to Bill Smith, an attorney for the confederation. Smith said Graves worked out an agreement Tuesday night with prosecutor Michael Jarrett to provide the documents requested in the subpoena and he was not...
  • Prosecutors face uphill but not impossible fight in complicated Twin Peaks biker cases

    10/12/2015 6:20:13 AM PDT · by don-o · 13 replies
    Waco Herald-Tribune ^ | October 11, 2015 | MARK OSLER
    As a teacher of criminal law, I’m fascinated by the cases arising out of the May 17 shootout at Waco’s Twin Peaks restaurant. The issues raised by those cases are complicated, compelling and important. Because Waco has a small legal community, I know and respect many of the attorneys and the judge involved in the cases. Some of them are my former students at Baylor University. I have not discussed these cases with any of them, however; the observations here are based on the excellent reporting done by the writers for this newspaper. At least one source (defense attorney Paul...
  • Roar of the crowd: Many unhappy at lack of Twin Peaks transparency, ...

    10/07/2015 1:59:36 PM PDT · by Prolixus · 97 replies
    The Waco-Tribune Herald ^ | Oct 7, 2015 | Waco Trib readers
    Plenty of folks responded by Facebook to a Sept. 30 Trib editorial that questioned the notion of the state’s helping local authorities pay for expenses arising from the deadly May 17 Twin Peaks shooting, particularly given the ongoing lack of transparency by those local authorities. A selection of the comments: Tonya Hilcher Gonzales: Waco should not get a dime from the state for the mess they created. Over four months later, they still won’t release the ballistics report. Four months later and we still don’t know how many of the nine were murdered by Waco police. I hope everyone remembers...
  • Of 170 held after Waco biker shooting, all are now out of jail, with none charged in killings

    10/04/2015 4:21:29 PM PDT · by PAR35 · 106 replies
    Dallas News ^ | 04 October 2015 | AP
    WACO — Only a few of the people arrested in the May biker shooting outside a Waco restaurant remain under ankle monitoring, and none are still in jail. Of the 135 people originally ordered to wear GPS ankle monitors, all but 22 have been allowed to remove them, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported Sunday. Their lawyers have reached agreements with prosecutors to modify the conditions of their pre-trial release. After initially locking up more than 170 people in connection with the May 17 incident outside Twin Peaks restaurant, McLennan County prosecutors have not charged anyone with the shooting deaths of nine...
  • Capitol rally draws critics of police response to Waco biker shootout

    09/26/2015 6:35:41 PM PDT · by ExyZ · 27 replies
    Austin American Statesman ^ | September 26, 2015 | James Barragan
    About 150 people, mostly bikers and their supporters, attended a rally Saturday on the south steps of the Capitol to denounce the treatment of the 177 people arrested in connection with a May shootout in Waco that left nine dead and 20 injured “That’s how tyrannies usually start: by throwing people in jail because of their association,” said Clint Broden, who is representing Matthew Clendennen, one of the arrested bikers, in criminal and civil lawsuits.
  • Clarity remains elusive four months after Waco biker shootout

    09/25/2015 6:42:19 PM PDT · by Elderberry · 87 replies
    More than four months after nine bikers were killed May 17 during a shootout outside the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, troubling questions stand before us, while clarity remains elusive. The mass arrest of 177 people has created a legal morass, and complicated an already complex investigation. An overly broad gag order is feeding suspicion that more than complexity is delaying the release of information about the investigation. And while autopsy reports on the nine bikers killed were released in August, ballistics testing reportedly continues. Without ballistics evidence the question of who shot whom increasingly generates harmful speculation. The embarrassing...