A Texas grand jury began reviewing evidence on Tuesday in the May shootout among rival bikers that left nine dead, led to mass arrests and spurred accusations among those taken into custody of authorities overstepping their bounds.
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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. He says law enforcement agencies are still working on additional cases related to the shootout between police and bikers outside of a Twin Peaks restaurant.
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Reyna said Tuesday was just the beginning: they still have a lot of work to do to ensure justice is done in all of these cases. We will continue to do that.
The grand jury proceedings were not open to the public.
Beyond the fact that authorities claim the shootout between the Cossack and Bandido motorcycle clubs started when an uninvited biker gang showed up at the restaurant, where a coalition of motorcycle groups had reserved the outdoor bar area, few facts are known about the incident, according to the NY Daily News.
More than 430 weapons were recovered from the scene. Reyna said the grand jury will return to consider charges against the other 71 bikers arrested on identical charges.
Matthew Clendennen, 30, a member of the Scimitars Motorcycle Club, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Waco and McLennan County, with allegations that he was wrongfully jailed and his landscaping business has suffered since his arrest.
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“This is unbelievable and truly scary”. Wilson told the AP that the indictment “doesn’t mean much”, adding that he suggests that since the indictments were done in such a short amount of time that they were “a cookie-cutter deal”, and if he is offered a plea bargain, he will not accept.
