Less than 20 of the 177 Waco bikers arrested after shootout still face charges

Guns.com ^ | 8/29/2015 | Jennifer Cruz

[Elderberry]

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 evidence to prove they engaged in organized criminal activity the day of the shootout, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported.

Nine men were killed during the exchange of gunfire that day and another 20 were injured. Authorities confiscated more than 475 weapons, including 151 firearms. No innocent civilians or law enforcement were injured during the shootout.

The incident remains under investigation, which is headed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, but a great deal of questions still remain, including who fired the fatal shots, which authorities have yet to disclose. However, Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman confirmed in June that a total of 12 rounds were fired by three Waco officers that day, leaving the remaining rounds at the hands of either the bikers or state and federal authorities.

At last count, 44 shell casings were recovered from the scene, including multiple .223 rounds, but ballistics evidence has not been made public at this time, despite the fact that autopsy reports were already released earlier this month, including vague descriptions of the injury-causing projectiles.

Weathers said the whole incident unfolded over a dispute about a parking space and a perceived act of disrespect, but while the melee initially involved the bikers, it’s unknown when authorities engaged.

According to Weathers, he and more than a dozen other members were outside of the Twin Peaks restaurant, while numerous members of the Cossacks, a rival biker gang, were near the patio area. A member of the Cossacks allegedly yelled at Bandidos club President David Martinez, saying he could not park in a particular space, but Weathers said he had not even pulled into the space at that point. Weathers, feeling his club president had been disrespected, then told the Cossacks member not to talk to his president that way, to which that member responded by punching Weathers in the face, he alleges.

Weathers said he covered his face in a defensive stance, but was soon pushed to the ground. Moments later, he heard gunshots, what he described as a “double tap.” Weathers was shot in the arm, but admitted that he did not know where the first shots came from because he was engaged in a fight with other bikers at the time.

Weathers said altogether the entire incident only lasted about four or five minutes.

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

I had a bunch of these patches made up, custom, in honor of Gaytor's soulless smartassery.

Go one step further in your solidarity with drug-dealing gangs and have it tattooed on your ass.

[Salamander]

I see that they finally unbuckled your jacket.

Good for you!

[Salamander]

Update: We’re also having that tattooed on our asses.

:)

[BlueDragon]

Truth might be too expensive to be set free.

Well put (for the subspecies such as you iz).

God love ya', even if the alligators of this world, don't give a flying letter for anything other than their own mouths.

[Salamander]

I suspect that the reptilian and his prissy, flouncing ilk have yet to fathom that I truly, sincerely do not give a flying red rat’s arse for their “opinions”.

:)

SubSalamander

[BlueDragon]

Careful.

That could turn into being like "stamped human bacon by some butchery tool".

Ah, forget it.

The other, more visible markings tend towards doing that already (and can even be somewhat as truth in advertising, in some instances?).

Whichever side of things one is really on, despite the outer plumage, the best of the best deserve all the best of the other best (depending upon perspective) while the worst of who-ever deserve each other --- may those latter (the worst) find each other, go down in infamy together, and leave the rest of us alone, all together with one another, out of their worstingness.

Day by Day

[Salamander]

For this fantastic night was billed
As nothing less than the end of an age
A last crusade
A final outrage
In this day of flaccid plumage
And there was worn no cloth but leather
Made supple by years of stinging cinders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWGAy1qjGeo

[Finny]

"No innocent civilians or law enforcement were injured during the shootout. "

Yeah, that whopper really stood out.

No innocent civilians were injured? Really? what about killed? When was the guilt or innocence of those injured established?

Crazy stuff going on.

[Paladin2]

US Alphabets vs. Waco crazies. Who was really in charge?

[BlueDragon]

Either someone intentionally fed her misinformation or she misunderstood what was happening in the courts on this case.

Bless her little 'ol heart.

I would assume that it was either & both, based on erroneous assumptions following some degree of misunderstanding.

While guessing (assuming) that assuming was going on, somewhere along the line in her own thinking, our own here assumptions based on those previous assumptions having produced the lonely, likely to be misleading declarative headline which eventually ended up here as a thread, one would also think, or else assume (another one of those assumptions! watch out-- they can be awful tricksy) that this particular item of "news", would otherwise be front-page headline news elsewhere in a variety of outlets, far beyond what would be available for instance; purchased from a Waco, TX newspaper vending machine.

She didn't even have one of those.

Newspaper articles, I mean. Not one of the vending machines.

Then again, I suppose I should assume that you know these things, since you said about as much in far fewer words.

But in other (old) news, speaking of newspaper vending machines, I suppose we all may recall hearing about Rahm Emanuel having had a NYT one of those, in the attic of a house that he owned, in Chicago.

Rahm "Sticky Fingers" Emanuel" Are We Lumberjacks?

Seemingly confirmed (that Rahm had the vending machine, its still only rumor the ballerina is also a "Man's Country" sort of lumberjack, sort-of like his buddy, Barack) from nymag.com;

Rahm Emanuel Has a Times Vending Machine in His Crawl Space

and

http://curbed.com/archives/2010/12/17/mayoral-hopeful-rahm-emanuel-hoards-new-york-times-in-crawlspace.php

Who knows? He may have been provided the vending machine honestly enough.

Pants up, don't (didn't?) loot?

I for one don't want to make go into making too many risky assumptions, as for that item of news. I just read what they give me to read.

Speaking of risk though, perhaps someone could ring up one good 'ol Carlos Danger. I hear he has contacts in NY City, Washington DC, and is on first name basis with all parties just previously mentioned. Other than your KORN radio station news reader, I swear I've never met any of these people...

But in another article, Rahm was said to have had sticky fingers for Washington area friend's newspapers, although there is no mention of any innocent-bystander vending machines being involved in this next little story, from The Hill;

Rahm Emanuel, thief

If you can't trust a politician, then who can you trust?

Though I don't know if I could provide answer that would fully put that last to rest, after a short commercial break, an adVertizment from everyone's favorite used-car salesman, the only and only Junior Samples;
Stay tuned for the next scheduled programs,

your local KORN radio reader, signing off

[Paladin2]

"“Skinny jeans”"

I'm gonna come down on those as a positive. Yogi Pants rule - though BooBoo has not chimed in with his opinion...

Mini Skirts are apparently largely long gone. It's a shame really...

[Paladin2]

"flouncing ilk"

LOL, nice...

[Paladin2]

See the “Pocket Watch” of yore.

[antidisestablishment]

Thus sayeth the almighty BATF in accordance with the laws of their father, Beelzebub.

“So let it be written, so let it be done.”

[Salamander]

Shhh.

One of the flouncers will now no doubt ask you if you’ve ever been hit in the mouth with a pocket watch chain.

[Fobbish FReepers. Meh.]

[Salamander]

I was beside myself with joy when the hideous bell bottoms that have been forced on us for *so* many years by faggy designers gave way to the glorious straight-leg and skinny jeans.

What woman on earth *wants* more yardage added to her shape?

Sheesh.

Bustiers are back, too.

The leather ones kick.

:)

[Salamander]

Feckless, faithless, flouncing ilk.

No less.

;)

[Spktyr]

“The Texas Court of Appeals has determined over the last week that officials had probable cause in only five of the 177 arrests”

This right here, in and of itself, would be a good reason why Waco has been desperately trying to cover themselves and spraying gag orders all over the place. They knew they didn’t have probable cause in the first place (which given witness statements, what little video has leaked out and the few statements made by Waco PD, is pretty much what many suspected) so absolutely *everything* they did is going to get thrown out in those cases and they opened themselves up for huge lawsuits.

This also can explain the blanket million dollar bail and the hugely inappropriate blanket murder/organized crime/etc., charges - quickly get the arrestee to voluntarily plead out and they can’t sue. They figured out they ‘done goofed’ and tried to make it go away.

[Salamander]

Yeah, it’ll go away.

‘Cause bikers are forgive and forget kinda folks.

[Spktyr]

There’s court rulings that say that an individual who signs a plea bargain voluntarily can’t sue them or get the sentence remanded based on the lack of probable cause.

That’s what they were trying to do, I think.