Gunfight exchanged between police and bikers after fight broke out between the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle clubs outside Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco on May 22, 2015
It left nine people dead and 20 injured
Three members of Bandidos motorcycle club were indicted on murder charges, Wednesday
Murder charges were filed against Jeff Battey, a local sergeant-at-arms with the Bandidos, and club members Ray Allen and Glenn Walker
The murder charges are the first in the case, stemming from a 2015 shooting
Nearly 200 bikers were arrested after the shooting and charged with engaging in felony organized criminal activity, homicide and aggravated assault
54 of initial 192 cases filed against the Bikers have been dropped in the last four months, they’re focusing on those who were ‘more culpable,’ – prosecutors
![Jeff Battey [left], Ray Allen [centre], and Glenn Walker [right] 1.png](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Jeff-Battey-left-Ray-Allen-centre-and-Glenn-Walker-right-1.png?resize=620%2C228&ssl=1)
[L-R] Jeff Battey, Ray Allen and Glenn Walker [left] all members of the Bandidos motorcycle indicted on murder charges Wednesday after a shoot out between rival biker gangs in Texas left 9 people dead and 20 injured in Waco, Texas on May 17, 2015
The indictments mark the first murder charges in the case, and more than 20 other bikers were re-indicted on new charges ranging from rioting to tampering with evidence.
The lesser charges come just eight days before the statute of limitations runs out on the lesser of those crimes [no-murder related], and a day after dozens of cases were dropped. Statute of limitation does not apply to murder charges.
Police arrested nearly 200 bikers following the shooting at a Twin Peaks restaurant that left nine people dead and 20 injured.
Local sergeant-at-arms for the Bandidos, Jeff Battey photo], has been charged with murder from the motorcycle gang related shooting at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas in May 2015.
Investigators say the incident was sparked by rivalries between the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle clubs. Waco police officers monitoring the gathering also fired on the bikers.
The murder charges were filed against Jeff Battey, a local sergeant-at-arms with the Bandidos, and two other club members: Ray Allen and Glenn Walker.
Bandidos Biker Club member Ray Allen, arrested during the motorcycle gang related shooting at the Twin Peaks restaurant. He has been indicted for murder
The third Bandidos Biker Club member Glenn Walker [photo], similarly indicted for murder, in the biker gang related shooting at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas in 2015.
The indictment charging Battey alleges he fatally shot Matthew Smith, a Cossacks member who died at the scene from gunshot wounds.
Battey, a former Marine, and Allen were seen by officers ‘triangulated’ over Smith, and a pistol was found in front of each man, according to Waco police records reviewed by the AP. An autopsy showed Smith was shot in the abdomen and back.
Battey’s attorney, Seth Sutton, said prosecutors failed to provide a ‘full and complete picture of the evidence’ to the grand jury.
‘We believe that justice will prevail for Mr. Battey and that he will be acquitted of all wrongdoing,’ Sutton said.
Some of the biker gang members run for cover while comrades exchanged gunfire
Later bodies of the dead and injured were strewn all over the parking lot
Attorneys for Allen and Walker didn’t respond to messages from the AP seeking comment.
Surveillance footage showed numerous bikers running from the scene and ducking for cover after gunshots rang out. A smaller number could be seen pointing and firing weapons, slinging a chain or participating in fistfights.
Law enforcement officers recovered dozens of firearms, knives and other weapons from the restaurant and adjacent parking lot.
Authorities investigate a shooting in the parking lot of Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas on May 17, 2015.
Prosecutors have dismissed another 42 cases relating to the 2015 shooting in Waco involving rival biker gangs that left nine dead and 20 others injured. A shootout between rival biker gangs began in the afternoon May 17, led to nine dead, many injured and 170 arrested. Dash-cam video showed that officers indiscriminately organized many of the weapons into piles on the pavement and in the back of a police vehicle.
The Twin Peaks restaurant, the scene of a motorcycle gang shootout, is seen May 18, 2015 in Waco, Texas.
Biker gang members scramble for cover as the violence erupts between the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle clubs, in a turf war in Waco Texas, May 2015
Law enforcement evidence reviewed by the AP also showed that police officers killed at least two bikers. A grand jury cleared the officers of wrongdoing.
All of the bikers arrested following the shooting were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, a felony, with the underlying offenses of homicide and aggravated assault.
They were held on $1 million bonds in county jail, and Battey was among the first to bail out.
But prosecutors have dropped 154 of the initial 192 cases in the last four months, saying they wanted to focus on those who were ‘more culpable.’
Only one biker – Jake Carrizal, a locomotive driver and the president of the Dallas chapter of the Bandidos – has been tried.
His trial ended in a hung jury and a mistrial last fall, though he was among the bikers re-indicted on Wednesday. Carrizal is now facing a new charge of rioting.
The county’s district attorney, Abel Reyna, didn’t return messages from the AP seeking more details about the indictments.
Reyna said in February, when announcing the first round of disposed cases, that information gleaned during Carrizal’s trial was ‘invaluable’ in his office’s decision to narrow the focus of its investigation.
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