Shooting at Twin Peaks in Waco

[JustSomeOldGuy]

Something stinks in the McLennan County DA's office.....

update to the October 23rd article
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/courts_and ... ef118.html

link to the original article
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/courts_and ... 7197e.html

[dlh]

Oops...Some folks may be getting into trouble...

[treadlightly]

Let justice be served, on berserkers and officers of the court alike.

[MechAg94]

Perhaps someone knows this answer: Does the prosecution have to turn over ALL evidence to the defense? How much can the prosecution decide to withhold? What are the typical consequences if evidence is withheld?

[dlh]

Perhaps someone knows this answer: Does the prosecution have to turn over ALL evidence to the defense? How much can the prosecution decide to withhold? What are the typical consequences if evidence is withheld?

That is a huge can of worms. If you have plenty of time on your hands you can google all of this:

Article 39.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure;
Michael Morton;
District Attorney Ken Anderson.

[Jago668]

Perhaps someone knows this answer: Does the prosecution have to turn over ALL evidence to the defense? How much can the prosecution decide to withhold? What are the typical consequences if evidence is withheld?

That is a huge can of worms. If you have plenty of time on your hands you can google all of this:

Article 39.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure;
Michael Morton;
District Attorney Ken Anderson.

Should have gone to jail for life with possibility of parole after 25 years. Forum rules prohibit me from saying would should happen to people like Anderson.

[Deltaboy]

Some elected officials need some Jail Time!

[Keith B]

13 more cases dismissed in the shooting.

http://www.fox4news.com/news/texas/texa ... r-shooting

[dlh]

13 more cases dismissed in the shooting.

http://www.fox4news.com/news/texas/texa ... r-shooting

Something is not right here. Maybe the lawyers for those 13 defendants can shed more light on what is going on. My first gut reaction, which of course is just speculation, is that the D.A. decided not to try some of the "ham sandwiches" he got indictments for.

Wonder how much those 13 defendants were out in lawyers' fees, time spent, and aggravation?

[talltex]

The DA in question (Abel Reyna) was defeated in last nights primary. Now that it can't help him in the election, I expect he will sit on the other defendant's dismissals just out of spite, and make them wait for the new DA to take office and clean house.

[MechAg94]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... ad2825268a

McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna was defeated by Barry Johnson, a personal injury lawyer with no criminal law experience. Johnson’s campaign focused on allegations that Reyna’s decision to arrest and charge more than 150 bikers was politically motivated. Motorcycle club members campaigned vigorously to defeat Reyna.

Interesting. I am not sure about the details, but it sounds like enough voters didn't like what was going on and decided to make a change. IMO, there is little excuse for these cases to be dragging on this long.

[talltex]

The McLennan County Commissioners voted to put a spending limit on the DA's office for the remainder of Abel Reyna's term to prevent him from draining the account before he leaves office. They would have to approve any additional expenditures beyond those necessary to run the office. Reading between the lines, they don't intend to let him squander millions more on any other additional Twin Peaks trials for the remainder of his term.

[dlh]

A few things come to mind which are pure speculation. Maybe the D.A. did not carefully screen these cases prior to indictment. Maybe law enforcement "pressured" the D.A. to pursue the cases. There is definitely a story or stories here---hopefully it will come out eventually.

[talltex]

A few things come to mind which are pure speculation. Maybe the D.A. did not carefully screen these cases prior to indictment. Maybe law enforcement "pressured" the D.A. to pursue the cases. There is definitely a story or stories here---hopefully it will come out eventually.

Pretty much the exact opposite--he didn't screen them at all. The DA instructed the police department to arrest everyone at the scene, regardless of whether they were a member of the Bandidos or Cossacks or not. I believe it was around 187 people locked up. The DA issued a blanket indictment charging EVERYONE arrested with being involved in an ongoing criminal conspiracy (Racketeering). The DA had everyone arrested put on a $1million dollar bond. The DA was in charge of all of it. He has been under investigation by the FBI for influence peddling and payoffs. He dismissed charges for friends. He was overheard saying he would "ride this case into the Govenor's office". There were innocent people that stayed locked up for months because they couldn't afford a $100k for a bondsman. People lost their jobs and their homes while incarcerated. The Police Dept. confiscated all of the motorcycles and vehicles belonging to those arrested because of the Racketeering charges. They have not returned any of them. It's been almost 3 years now, and the majority of the cases have still not been dismissed. The whole operation stinks. The only case tried in 3 years was the DA's strongest case against the president of the Dallas Bandidos chapte,r and he couldn't get a conviction on it. But he spent $1.2 million in additional costs to try it due to bringing in 3 different judges and prosecutors and paying overtime for additional security around the courthouse during the hearing and trial. The people of McLennan county along with the rest of the administration got fed up with him.

[philip964]

https://www.chron.com/news/texas/articl ... 897923.php

Prosecutors dismiss more cases. Apparently they are going to only go after the people who were shooting, not just people who had a motorcycle jacket on or were just there. May have had something to do with the DA being primaried out of office.

Is there recourse for these dismissed people, who apparently did nothing wrong but be in the wrong place at the wrong time?