Posted on 11/05/2015 6:03:23 PM PST by Elderberry
McLennan County grand jury headed by an Iraq War combat veteran will begin hearing evidence next week in cases related to the May 17 Twin Peaks melee in which nine bikers were killed and 177 were jailed, according to courthouse sources.
The 12-person panel, summoned in a specially-called meeting, will assemble Tuesday morning, and prosecutors will begin presenting evidence from the Twin Peaks incident, the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
Grand juries in McLennan County routinely meet twice a month on Wednesdays. However, because Wednesday is Veterans Day, the grand jury was asked to meet Tuesday.
If the grand jury wasn’t going to meet until the next regular meeting on Nov. 18, that would be more than six months after the bikers were arrested and possibly set off a flurry of motions from attorneys seeking relief for their clients.
The Code of Criminal Procedure allows defendants who remain in jail 90 days and who are not indicted the right to ask for personal recognizance bonds or reduced bonds that they can make. Most of the bikers had been freed within the 90 days, so the issue only applied in a few cases.
However, attorneys for defendants not indicted within 180 days can file motions asking that all charges be dismissed and that all bond conditions be removed, including curfews, ankle monitors and travel and association restrictions.
That does not preclude prosecutors from indicting defendants at the next grand jury session or subsequent meetings.
McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna and his first assistant, Michael Jarrett, did not return messages seeking comment Thursday.
Attorneys for bikers have been critical of McLennan County officials over the way most every aspect of the case has been handled so far, including the mass arrests of the bikers on identical arrest warrant affidavits, the initial setting of $1 million bonds for each of them and the fact that a Waco police detective was randomly selected as a grand jury member and appointed foreman by a judge.
The grand jury over which the detective presided has since run its course and was replaced by the current grand jury, which includes a combat veteran as foreman and a Waco attorney as a member.
The new grand jury was seated Oct. 14. Prosecutors subpoenaed the president of the Bandidos motorcycle group’s Austin chapter to appear before the new grand jury but settled for his records from a motorcycle confederation instead.
Prosecutors sought documents from Jimmy Graves, a Bandido who also heads the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents, a coalition of motorcycle groups, according to Bill Smith, an attorney for the confederation.
Smith and Graves worked out an agreement with Jarrett to provide the documents requested in the subpoena, and he was not required to go before the grand jury.
"The prosecutor wanted documents about the Confederation of Clubs and Independents, how it was organized, what it is, minutes from meetings, things like that," Smith said. "Those were given to the prosecutor, and there was no need to testify."
Graves was on his way to Waco on May 17 but got caught in traffic on the way up from Austin and was not at Twin Peaks when the violence erupted, Smith said.
"The Confederation of Clubs and Independents abhors violence. It is a grassroots organization that has as its mission political, social, safety and awareness issues for motorcyclists and others on the road," Smith told the Tribune-Herald last month. "Since this all took place at a COC&I meeting, I'm sure they just want to know a little bit more about the COC&I and its function and what role, if any, it played in all of this. I have been to COC&I meetings throughout the country and there have never been any physical confrontations or even any verbal confrontations. Everyone is welcome."
Call in one cop as a witness, have the grand jury vote, and it could all be over but the paperwork by lunchtime.
IBTG, IB(X-spurt), IB(AMDG&BVMH), IB(Trumpinator)
The 180 day “deadline” is clearly driving this.
True dat...the malignancy is growing.
This scheduling of the GJ may be related to the Nothing-burger, edited videotape that was released with Waco police “watermarking” following which the Waco DA & police said it wasn’t them that released it (sure, we believe that guys).
“Call in one cop as a witness, have the grand jury vote, and it could all be over but the paperwork by lunchtime.”
That is true. They all have the same charges pending and the evidence is all the same. Just like herding sheep.
Will they be foolish enough to indict them all?
If so the civil suits will take more than ten years to run their course
“...Will they be foolish enough to indict them all?
If so the civil suits will take more than ten years to run their course.”
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I’m sure a number of Waco government employees would love to see things dragged out long enough for them to retire on lucrative pensions and get the hell out of Dodge-—far, far away.
I have never served on a Grand Jury. I do know it is supposed to be secret. Abel Reyna (or someone in his office) wanted this to be known. I can't see how that is of benefit to him. Maybe someone else does.
Are they assuming this will be a slam dunk? After all, rubber stamp probable cause affidavits worked out.
Thing is, if they have read the local newspapers and watched television, the panel will have some knowledge of the case. They have heard the protestations of innocence from many of those arrested. This is completely different from most of the cases they have been hearing. They get to ask questions. I believe I am correct that it only takes three votes to return a no true bill.
And if they have been paying attention, they would be aware of the potential financial liability to the city. The more I think of it, the less can I see all 177 being indicted. BUT, Waco has blazed all manner of new trails with this thing.
My hope (not belief) is that those who did actual crimes - assault, murder, reckless endangerment - get indicted and the rest have charges dropped.
In looking at the Texas Statute on Grand Juries:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CR/htm/CR.20.htm
CHAPTER 20. DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE GRAND JURY
It seems that the Grand Jury cannot group defendants together. They will have to handle each one individually.
“My hope (not belief) is that those who did actual crimes - assault, murder, reckless endangerment - get indicted and the rest have charges dropped.”
....
I would add: justice for the dead and wounded and their families.
What dose that mean? The judicial system is supposed to ascertain guilt and impose punishment. Is there something more than that you are looking for?
The grand jury isn't limited to the accusation used to justify arrest and detention, and I think everybody agrees that the evidence is going to vary across the range of accused.
The grand jury could indict on simple (not gang-related) assault, for example, even though the cookie-cutter accusation doesn't assert that.
Reyna comes off, to me, as a loose cannon. Who knows, he may push to continue the implication of conspiracy based on clothing; or he may focus prosecutorial resources on the few actors caught, on video, perpetrating violence.
Witherspoon does a good job of describing the effect of the 180 day "deadline," which is going to occur no matter what! All that happens is a flurry of motions from accused, to drop all conditions of bond. That doesn't preclude the DA from seeking an indictment later. He has, IIRC, a couple years at least.
Indictments cut off the right to move for dropping bond conditions; but indictments create a bigger workload as those charged start making the demands for speedy trial, discovery, and so forth. The mass arrests set up a pile of work, and Reyna can choose to minimize the size of the pile, or magnify it. 177 trials is lots of work, and ALL of the people charged by the GJ will have a right to a speedy trial. If the state doesn't conduct the trial in a reasonable time after charging, there are other ramifications.
Secrecy attaches ONLY to the grand jurors, not to witnesses. The thing that is keeping witnesses mum is that gag order.
-- My hope (not belief) is that those who did actual crimes - assault, murder, reckless endangerment - get indicted and the rest have charges dropped. --
Nobody has been charged, so there isn't any dropping of charges. And the accusations go stale after 180 days, either indict, or drop the accusation. Dropping an accusation does not preclude leveling a fresh accusation, but a fresh accusation would have to be accompanied by facts not appearing in the first accusation - the state can't just recycle the same old accusation and hold a person in a state of "accused" for an indefinite period.
One ought to wonder why the DA waited until now to put evidence before the GJ. All the time pressure is the state's own doing.
“why the DA waited until now to put evidence before the GJ.”
...
Could it have been waiting for the ballistics reports? Some time ago I read they were expected to be done in Oct or Nov.
“My hope (not belief) is that those who did actual crimes - assault, murder, reckless endangerment - get indicted and the rest have charges dropped.”
....
I would add: justice for the dead and wounded and their families.
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Yes, and it’s likely that the only justice for the dead, wounded and their families will be coming from the civil suits that will be filed against governmental entities that have been committing injustices. And, IMHO, those injustices have continued (and will continue) to pile up as the “responsible” governmental authorities struggle to find a way to get rid of the tar baby they’ve created and from which they cannot extricate themselves.
Sure, for the accused that the DA believed fired weapons and struck victims. But not for all 177. He could have "worked off" some of the accused, unless he only had intention to pursue charges for those individuals that he believed fired at and hit victims. For those accused, he'd ideally link the accused to the gun to the projectile to the victim.
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