Posted on 10/11/2017 9:51:09 AM PDT by Elderberry
Tribune-Herald staff writer Tommy Witherspoon is live-tweeting from inside the courtroom in the trial of Jacob Carrizal, the first biker to be prosecuted for his alleged role in the May 17, 2015, Twin Peaks shootout.
Jury selection is underway, and opening statements are expected to be given this afternoon.
Nine people were killed and dozens injured in the melee between rival biker groups the Bandidos and Cossacks.
The judge and attorneys are talking to prospective jurors individually now. These are the ones who asked not to speak publicly about issues.
The judge is talking to the parties in chambers. They might begin calling in potential jurors who didn't want to talk about issues in public
Her last question: "Will each of you promise to give Jake Carrizal the fair trial he deserves and has been waiting so long to get?"
Gotro is asking each of the 145 or so on the panel if they will follow the law.
Gotro said a jury is allowed to disregard evidence if it finds the evidence was illegally obtained.
Gotro is asking the panel about items searched and seized without probable cause.
The gun discussion is ongoing. Gotro has really got the panel talking now, with comments on all sides of the issue.
Many say there are too many guns but they aren't comfortable with the government seizing guns from lawful owners.
Now she's got the panel in a 2nd Amendment discussion, asking if there are too many guns and if they fear the government will take them.
Gotro is saying that "technicalities" that people often chide defense attorneys for exploiting are actually important constitutional rights.
Gotro asked why someone would lie to a police officer.
Gotro is talking about the unreliability of eyewitness testimony and reasons why it can be flawed. One juror said Twin Peaks served alcohol.
Gotro is warning jurors against what she called confirmation bias, having formed an opinion and only listening to evidence that supports it.
She is asking if witnesses, including police officers, always tell the truth. One juror said it is unlikely a police officer would lie
Gotro is picking up her voir dire where she left off Tuesday evening. She is asking why defendants might not take the stand.
The parties have agreed to proceed without the missing juror, but the judge ordered deputies to continue looking for him to execute the writ
The judge told the panel that we can't proceed at this time and recessed the proceedings actually before they started.
The judge issued a writ of attachment for a no-show juror and the judge is recessing the panel until he is located.
Stay tuned. There is never a dull moment around here and you never know what is going to happen next. But you can bet it won't be ordinary.
The jury panel is coming in now and defense attorney Casie Gotro will continue her voir dire examination of the panel.
Not intending anything rude by this, but as I'm sure you gathered, I had been merely passing on what Tommy Witherspoon had Tweeted.
As for thew prosecution irritating the judge -- that did seem to come across at a couple of junctures in Witherspoon's Tweets the last few trial days.
Gotro has been a few minutes late to morning commencement of trial, a time or two, and had irritated the judge (Johnson) in that way.
Scanning through the last few hours of Witherspoon's 'SpoonFeed', the last witness, Sgt. Stephen Drews of the Waco Police Dept. has testified to some things that would seriously call into question the intent of a potentially significant number of those who showed up that day that the DA's Office has as cornerstone to the overall, widely encompassing charges.
More on this later, for the time being I have other duties calling...
Thanks for that up-date,,,,,,, If I was the judge I’d be scratching my head wondering what is the prosecution thinking ,,,Are they above the law ?
I'd appreciate being included.
Thanks for the ping. Please keep me on your “ping list”.
So far, the tweets have been pretty dull. There's been a lot of references to "patches" and "weapons" but nothing linking the defendant to the killings. The jurors must be bored silly.
Gotro is asking Vaughan about department procedures of collecting, logging and storing evidence. 10:19 AM - 27 Oct 2017
Gotro is asking now about video that Vaughan collected from Don Carlos cameras. 10:36 AM - 27 Oct 2017
Gotro is replaying a portion of the video Vaughan shot in the Twin Peaks parking lot. 10:59 AM - 27 Oct 2017
Gotro is stopping on images of open saddle bags on the motorcycles and asking Vaughan how or why they remain open.
He said his technicians searched the bikes later but they would not have left them open. 11:05 AM - 27 Oct 2017
"I watch this video and see all these open saddle bags and it appears to me that someone was rifling through all of them and just taking people's gun. Am I wrong about that?" Gotro asked. 11:28 AM - 27 Oct 2017
Gotro asked if all of the 154 guns taken from the scene are still in Waco police possession. Vaughan said he does not know. 11:30 AM - 27 Oct 2017
Thanks for the update. WacoTrib says I exceeded my free use of the site.
Have they ID’d the “yellow helmet” guy in court yet?
Try deleting the wacotrib.com cookie and restart your browser.
There ya go. I'll try that.
11:07 AM - 31 Oct 2017
The judge said a redacted copy of a statement taken by FBI was turned over to the defense this morning. Gotro had no objections. 8:25 AM - 6 Nov 2017
On Friday, the judge ordered a statement collected by the city to be turned over to Gotro by 5 p.m. Friday. She said she received it. 8:27 AM - 6 Nov 2017
The judge called the lawyers and the DPS lawyer into his chambers. 8:38 AM - 6 Nov 2017
The judge ruled the information from the DPS must be revealed to defense and DPS attorney waived their privilege claim. 9:05 AM - 6 Nov 2017
The judge put the information under protective order not to be disclosed. 9:06 AM - 6 Nov 2017
Check that. The state did not waive the privilege but the judge ordered the materials turned over. The materials pertain to informants. 9:08 AM - 6 Nov 2017
She said Reyna and two prosecutors were in a room with a Cossack who provided exculpatory information she had not received. 9:19 AM - 6 Nov 2017
She said they were in the room and aware of the information and it was not turned over to her. 9:20 AM - 6 Nov 2017
She said they were in the room and aware of the information and it was not turned over to her. 9:20 AM - 6 Nov 2017
Prosecutor Michael Jarrett said he and Reyna left the room because they knew the witness was lying. 9:21 AM - 6 Nov 2017
Gotro argued the information would have changed the way she cross-examined most all the witnesses and the state doesn't get to decide who is credible and what information they get to turn over in discovery. 9:24 AM - 6 Nov 2017
The defense is alleging that the indictment does not allege Carrizal committed an overt act as part of the conspiracy. 10:02 AM - 6 Nov 2017
The judge denied the motion for instructed verdict. The jury is coming in now. 10:06 AM - 6 Nov 2017
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