With Waco indictments, pressure on to make a deal

The day after dozens of bikers were indicted after a deadly brawl in Waco, many of them are likely to be considering making a deal, experts said, potentially giving up their biker brothers when faced with a long prison sentence.

Prosecutors in McLellan County indicted 106 bikers on Tuesday on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity, some six months after a melee at a Twin Peaks that left nine dead and at least 18 wounded. If convicted, they face the prospect of 15 years to life.

Many of the bikers indicted likely didn't throw a punch or fire a shot during the incident. But once one domino falls _ and someone agrees to cooperate by sharing inside information _ the landscape could shift dramatically for some, said Geoffrey Corn, a professor at South Texas College of Law, in Houston.

Prosecutors have still not revealed what specifically they believe each of the person charged did that May 17 afternoon, as well as who among them are directly responsible for the deaths and injuries.

Authorities have also declined to reveal who among them was shot by Waco Police, although authorities have said officers fired their weapons to save their own lives or those of others.

So far, 106 of the 177 people arrested that Sunday afternoon have been indicted. McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna said the grand jury continues looking at the case, which involved a clash between the Bandidos Motorcycle Club and the Cossacks Motorcycle Club.

"This is just the beginning of an ongoing, continuing investigation," he said Wednesday. "Eventually all 177 cases will be put before the (grand jury.)"

Securing an indictment sends a message that they are pushing ahead with the case and grand jurors agree there is probable cause the law was broken.

"One of the advantages of an indictment is you have ratcheted up the pressure on the targets," said Corn, the law professor. "All you need is one or two of them to come in and cooperate and agree to testify about how this was a plan to protect turf."

"If you are a defense lawyer, you are talking to your client saying, 'now this is getting real, we need to think about some of the options here,'" he said. "If I'm the (district attorney) it is a race to the door and I'm going to reward whoever shows up first."

The Bandidos are seen as an especially insular group, where loyalty is everything and getting a member to turn his back on the club would be tough, according to those who have studied outlaw bikers.

"You might have guys who circle the wagons and say, our strength is in numbers," Corn said.

Larry Karson, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston Downtown said prosecutors benefit from defendants feeling the pressure.

The indictment and hefty potential penalty amount to leverage for prosecutors, he said.

"The heavier the potential sentence, the greater the leverage," he said, nothing that even innocent people have pleaded guilty in cases in order to avoid doing major time.

"If you have somebody who rolls, you have inside information," said Karson, who is a retired Customs Service agent.Karson stressed that just because the people were indicted, does not mean there is enough evidence to convict them at trial.

"In Texas the grand jury is a marionette of the district attorney, basically having their strings pulled to do his bidding," he said. "The district attorney chooses what evidence is and isn't presented to the grand jury with no challenge from those being prosecuted."

Houston lawyer Paul Looney, who is representing a former member of the Cossacks, agreed that for some of the people charged, the pressure is on.

"The reality is that clients who don't have a lot of confidence in their lawyer panic early," he said. Several defendants have lawyers who they had not met before and did not hire, but were court appointed, he said.

"They have no relationship," Looney said. "And it stands to reason those people are going to be under a lot of pressure."

Great article, BraveMan! Thanks for posting it.

Moira, I hope this helps you to come to the conclusion that this was one lone man crying out in the wilderness.

I also knew Jim Mattox. I believe the “powers” made sure he lost the governor’s race to Ann Richards because of the Lucas hoax. He was a lot like Vic. He was a bull dog who wouldn’t back down and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. And he hated Ann Richards. When Ronnie Earl indicted Kay Bailey Hutchison Jim told me “That’s always Ann Richards’ first campaign volley. Have Ronnie Earl indict someone.” Earl dropped the charges about five minutes before the trial was to start.

So, it’s not just Waco. It’s the Texas State law enforcement agencies and the courts that are corrupt. Colonel Adams, the head of the state police who went after Vic should have been prosecuted and sent to jail. Instead he was given his golden retirement.

By the way, David Spence was executed for killing the three teens at Lake Waco. Feazell nailed him and the muslim who paid Spence to do it. He also nailed the two Hispanic friends who helped Spence. All with the help of Simons.

Simons got a call from a psychic in Hillsboro who told him in a dream saw two Hispanic boys at the murder scene and one of them was wearing combat boots with his pants legs over the top and an army shirt. Simons had been questioning these two brothers so he decided to go for it. He said a witness had seen them and told what one of them was wearing. One brother looked at the other and said “I knew someone saw us.” They turned witness against Spence.

I knew a pretty tough guy who went to school with Spence. He said he was always afraid of him. And all the blacks in the county jail were afraid of him. They said he was evil.

Later he found God and told Simons that God was going to set him free. Simons pointed out that God might set him free in the afterlife but he wasn’t getting out of that county jail.

I’ve lost touch with Deanna Fitzgerald over the years. I wish I knew how to get in touch with her.

I have to tell you, the Henry Lee Lucas thing (back in the day) was upsetting and disturbing from a Mid-West housewife (I only followed MSM coverage back then) perspective.

This guy was portrayed as worse than Manson, worse than Dahmer. They were portraying him as the biggest mass murderer in US history. So many murders and disappearances were suddenly solved/resolved by this guy’s confessions.

Personally always thought the Rangers were above malfeasance - how disappointing to hear they were all too eager to clear cases without thorough investigations.

I felt the same way about the Rangers. Ends up they were just as much a fraud as the rest of them. I don’t know how anyone could sleep at night “solving” murders by feeding a one eyed drifter with info then having it regurgitated back and calling the case solved. Knowing the real murderer was still out there killing.

Then when they’re proven to be frauds they still stick with their story and say “I believe Lucas killed a lot of people” when they KNOW he only killed three and had already served time for one of them.

That’s why I believe they’re up to their asses in a Waco cover up.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.