Grand jury selection in biker cases questioned

WACO — A police detective has been selected to preside over a grand jury that will likely consider cases stemming from a shootout involving bikers and police in Waco.

District Judge Ralph Strother on Wednesday chose veteran policeman James Head to serve as foreman of the randomly selected 12-member panel that will meet for the next three months.

“We have lawmen who get on jury panels all the time. Who is better qualified in criminal law than somebody who practices it all the time?” Strother told the Waco Tribune-Herald When asked if he had any involvement in the investigation, Head told the newspaper, “Not really.” He referred additional questions to

the Waco City attorney’s office.

The move comes amid allegations from bikers and their lawyers that authorities have acted unfairly during the investigation.

One biker has sued and others have claimed in interviews that they were wrongfully arrested.

The grand jury created Wednesday is the first to be formed of randomly selected jurors in McClennan County since Texas lawmakers eliminated a controversial statewide “pick-a-pal” system.

Under that system, judge-appointed commissioners nominated prospective jurors.

Nine people were killed and 18 injured in the May 17 shootout outside a Twin Peaks restaurant that authorities say stemmed from an apparent confrontation between two motorcycle clubs, and 117 were arrested and held on $1 million bonds.

All but four have been released, mostly on lowered bonds. Under Texas law, the district attorney must seek indictment against those who remain in jail within 90 days of their arrest or else lower their bonds to an amount they can afford. The grand jury will consider about 100 criminal cases presented by the district attorney’s office, according to the newspaper.

Biker sues city

It remains unclear whose bullets struck the nine who died in the melee. In an appeal to the state attorney general, Waco police have sought to block the public release of the results of autopsies and ballistic analyses.

Hundreds of weapons —including 151 firearms — were recovered.

Matthew Clendennen, the only biker to sue in connection with the shootout, was slapped with a gag order after publicly criticizing how the investigation has been handled. The order was written by McClennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna and issued by Reyna’s former law partner, District Judge Matt Johnson.

Clendennen is suing the city of Waco, McLennan County, Reyna and arresting Waco police officer Manuel Chavez.

Chavez testified this month that the arrest affidavits were prepared by the DA’s office, and that the justice of the peace who swore to the affidavits signed them in bulk, without making an individualized determination for each defendant.

“Whether real or perceived, there is a noxious odor surrounding the investigation by the Waco Police and the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office,” Clendennen’s attorney, Clint Broden, said in a petition challenging the gag order.

Rising tensions

Waco police became aware of rising tensions between the Cossacks and the Bandidos in March, according to spokesman Sgt. Patrick Swanton.

Authorities confronted Twin Peaks’ management with concerns about the restaurant hosting a meeting of the Confederation of Clubs and Independents, a coalition of motorcycle clubs that advocates rider safety, but Twin Peaks failed to cancel the event, according to a lawsuit against the restaurant’s parent company.