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Federal authorities have finished their testing and review of 151 firearms, as well as bullet fragments and cartridge cases, recovered from the deadly biker clash last year at the Twin Peaks in Waco. The work was done by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the request of Waco Police, who are leading the investigation of the incident, "We are just processing it for them; we are not making investigation decisions," said Special Agent Nicole Strong, of the ATF's Houston Division. "Now it is up to the police department to determine what they do with that information." McLennan...

A McLennan County grand jury that returned indictments against 106 bikers in November will be called back into service on March 23, a judge said Thursday. Judge Matt Johnson of Waco’s 54th State District Court extended the term of the grand jury by 90 days in December so it could continue its investigation into the May 17 shootout at Twin Peaks that left nine bikers dead and dozens injured. The grand jury’s extended term is set to expire at the end of March. Johnson said Thursday that he was notified that the grand jury will be summoned to meet again...

A biker indicted in the Twin Peaks shootout who was denied an early trial setting last month because prosecutors said they were not ready for trial is asking a Waco appeals court to order a judge to set a speedy trial date in his case. Houston attorney Paul Looney, who represents Cody Ledbetter, a member of the Cossacks motorcycle group, filed a petition asking Waco’s 10th Court of Appeals to order 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother to set a trial date for Ledbetter. Ledbetter, of Waco, is one of 106 bikers indicted in November on first-degree felony engaging in...

McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. "Pete" Peterson has been cleared by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct after three complaints from attorneys and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association over the manner in which he set bonds for 177 bikers arrested after the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout. Peterson, who set identical $1 million bonds for each of the bikers and said he did so, in part, to "send a message," declined comment Monday about the dismissal of the complaints. Peterson's attorney, David Deaconson, said he and Peterson went to Austin to meet with the commission on Feb....

The Twin Peaks Massacre case just got a lot more focused. Ruling from the bench, District Judge Matt Johnson ordered the state of Texas "to reveal the identity of confidential informants and undercover law enforcement officials who were either present at Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas on May 17, 2015 or who were material witnesses related to the incident that took place." The order includes the discovery of the identities "of confidential informants used in connection with 'Operation Texas Rocker' that were present at or who had material information regarding the Twin Peaks incident." The information should be turned...

The trial of a biker arrested in the deadly May 17 Twin Peaks shootout was postponed Friday as evidence in the complex case continues to be analyzed and other pretrial matters unfold. Judge Matt Johnson set an April 1 hearing date to consider a change of venue motion filed by the attorney for Hewitt biker Matthew Clendennen, a member of the Scimitars motorcycle group, whose trial had been set for Feb. 29. The judge considered other pretrial motions Friday during a brief hearing in Clendennen's case. McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna assured Clendennen's attorney, Clint Broden, of Dallas, that...

Citing "pervasive, prejudicial, and inflammatory" publicity Waco defendant Matt Clendennen and his lawyer, Clint Broden, filed a change of venue motion in the 54th District Court in Waco today. Clendennen is currently scheduled to stand trial later this month. He is charged with being part of a criminal conspiracy to commit murder and assault. In a most amusing, 19 page motion, Broden singled out McLennan County District Attorney Abelino Reyna, Waco Police spokesman Patrick Swanton, Justice of the Peace W.H. Peterson, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Waco Mayor Malcolm Duncan Jr. and the Waco Tribune-Herald for prejudicial statements and coverage that...

An attorney representing a biker arrested in the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout is seeking to move his client's felony case from McLennan County. Dallas attorney Clint Broden, who represents Hewitt resident Matthew Clendennen, filed a change of venue motion Friday that seeks to try the case in another county because of what he describes as "pervasive, prejudicial and inflammatory" publicity about the unique case. The motion asks 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson to move the trial to Travis, Dallas or Harris counties. Broden's motion cites quotes attributed in the local media to McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna,...

WACO, Texas (KWTX) A Dallas attorney who is representing a Hewitt man indicted in the Twin Peaks shooting rampage has filed a list of motions with a district court seeking information about the case investigators brought against his client. Clinton F. Broden represents Matthew Alan Clendennen, of Hewitt, who is one of the bikers who already has been indicted in the Twin Peaks shooting, charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. In three motions filed late Tuesday in the 54th District Court, Broden is asking the court to force prosecutors to reveal the identity of confidential informants and undercover police...

McLennan County commissioners Tuesday will consider approving a federal grant application to help cover costs associated with the deadly May 17 Twin Peaks shootout in Waco. Dustin Chapman, the county's legal counsel, said Friday he was still vetting the information and collecting the final tallies for the meeting Tuesday. But he said the biggest cost to submit to Gov. Greg Abbott's office is about $190,000 spent to house inmates at the Jack Harwell Detention Center. Chapman said other related costs include money spent on autopsies and overtime for the McLennan County Sheriff's Office. In the immediate aftermath of the shootout...

A state district judge denied a motion Friday to quash the engaging in organized criminal activity indictment against a founding member of the Escondido motorcycle group and an active motorcyclists' rights advocate. Judge Ralph Strother rejected Thomas Paul Landers' request to dismiss the indictment after a brief hearing in 19th State District Court. Landers, 59, of Georgetown, was among 106 bikers indicted Nov. 10 on first-degree felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity, with underlying offenses of murder and assault. Landers' attorney, Millie Thompson, of Austin, argued that the indictment should be thrown out because due process rights forbid...

In a motion filed under the heading "Justice delayed is justice denied," an attorney for biker Matthew Clendennen said he opposes a prosecution motion seeking to delay Clendennen's trial, because he has all the video evidence he needs to prove his client's innocence. Dallas attorney Clint Broden lost little time in responding to McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna's motion, filed Tuesday, to postpone Clendennen's trial scheduled for Feb. 29. Clendennen, a member of the Scimitars motorcycle group, is one of 106 bikers indicted in November on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity in the May 17 Twin Peaks...

An eyewitness and his daughter have provided the first outside account of the shootout between members of the Oregon militiamen who had seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge complex and a blocking force of FBI agents who kept the vehicle from escaping an attempted traffic stop.

McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna is asking to postpone a Feb. 29 trial setting in the first Twin Peaks shootout case, saying that analysis of some evidence likely won’t be completed for a year. In a 19-page motion for continuance filed late Tuesday afternoon, Reyna asked 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson to postpone the engaging in organized criminal activity trial of Matthew Alan Clendennen, 30, a member of the Scimitars motorcycle group from Hewitt. Clendennen was arrested the day of the shootout that left nine people dead and at least 20 others wounded. "As our Legislature has mandated,...

Four days after taking the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, LaVoy Finicum, a 55-year-old Arizona rancher told NBC News that he'd rather die than spend his days in prison. "There are things more important than your life and freedom is one of them," he said in early January as he sat huddled in a blue tarp outside of the wildlife refuge keeping watch with his gun in his lap. "I'm prepared to defend freedom." Finicum told NBC that night that he was staying outside to ensure that the FBI could find him if they came to arrest him....

HARNEY COUNTY, Ore. — KATU News has learned the leader of the armed occupation at Malheur Wildlife Refuge has been arrested, along with three other individuals Tuesday evening.

John Wilson, who leads the McLennan County chapter of the Cossacks Motorcycle Club, was in the Waco Twin Peaks parking lot when the shooting broke out on May 17 between the Bandidos and Cossacks. His son Jake Wilson was also there. John Wilson owns Legend Cycles in Waco. He and his son were arrested, along with 175 others, and later indicted on organized crime charges. John Wilson is one of the only Cossacks speaking out about what happened that day, and he insists that many of those arrested are innocent. His interview with Julie Lyons is excerpted here. Wilson begins...

The following people were indicted Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016 by a McLennan County grand jury. The District Attorney's Office no longer furnishes the age or city of residence of the people on this list.

The Texas Court of Appeals has determined over the last week that officials had probable cause in only five of the 177 arrests following a shootout between two rival biker gangs and local, state and federal authorities outside of a Waco restaurant in May, with just over a dozen more cases set to be reviewed over the next two weeks. Among those still facing charges are a Bandidos chaplain and a husband and wife. Officials also found probable cause against Bandidos members Marcus Pilkington, 36, and Reginald Weathers, 43, who ascertain they are “being illegally confined” and authorities lack sufficient...

Waco City Council signed off on the application Tuesday for a federal grant to offset the cost of responding to the Twin Peaks biker shootout last May 17. The city is seeking a $248,841 Justice Assistance Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The bulk of the requested funding, more than $240,000, would go to the Waco Police Department for overtime and equipment, with small amounts going to Waco Transit, the Waco Fire Department and the police departments in Robinson, Woodway, Hewitt and Lorena. "Based on the feedback we've received, I believe we will receive a portion or all of...