THERON RHOTEN v. BRENT STROMAN, MANUEL CHAVEZ, ABELINO “ABEL” REYNA, CITY OF WACO, TEXAS, McLENNAN C

[Elderberry]

Courthouse News by ALAN D ALBRIGHT UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 3/31/2020

THERON RHOTEN v. BRENT STROMAN, MANUEL CHAVEZ, ABELINO “ABEL” REYNA, CITY OF WACO, TEXAS, McLENNAN COUNTY, TEXAS, ROBERT LANNING, JEFFREY ROGERS, PATRICK SWANTON, STEVEN SCHWARTZ, and CHRISTOPHER FROST,

Before the Court are:

Defendants Frost and Schwartz’s Motion to Dismiss(ECF Nos. 57& 76);the City Defendants’ Joint Motion to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 58& 76);Defendants Reyna and McLennan County’s Motion to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 59& 78);and the respective responses, replies,and sur-replies thereto. The Court, having considered the Motions and applicable law,finds that the Motions should be DENIED or DENIED in PART and GRANTED in PART as discussed below.

I. INTRODUCTION

This case stems from the Twin Peaks restaurant incident on May 17, 2015.Members of the Bandidos and Cossacks Motorcycle Clubs, along with hundreds of other motorcycling enthusiasts,converged on the restaurant. Tensions between the Bandidos and Cossacks erupted in a shootout that left nine dead and many injured. In the aftermath of the incident, police arrested 177 individuals on charges of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity. The probable cause affidavit in support of the arrest warrants was the same for each of the 177 arrestees, and a justice of the peace set bond for each of the arrestees at one million dollars. Only one of the criminal cases ever went to trial(the defendant in that case is not a party to the instant action), and those proceedings ended in a mistrial. The state eventually dropped all remaining charges against the arrestees. The plaintiffs in this case, Theron Rhoten, Jonathan Lopez, Ryan William Craft, Jim Albert Harris, Bonar Crump, Jr., Juan Carlos Garcia, and Drew King,were arrested pursuant to the same probable cause affidavit as the other arrestees.

The plaintiffs bring this case pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. They allege that the defendants violated their Fourth Amendment rights by obtaining arrest warrants based on a fill-in-the-name affidavit that lacked probable cause. Plaintiffs also allege that the defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment due process right to be free from unlawful arrest.

More: https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/twinpeaksshootout.pdf

[Elderberry]

@don-o

First "Waco Post" in a long time.

[Smokin Joe]

So Swanton walks...

[don-o]

So Swanton walks...

Swanton seemed to me to be about as smart as Barney Fife but less self aware

[Smokin Joe]

Swanton seemed to me to be about as smart as Barney Fife but less self aware

Swanton was involved in and even got an award for the Mt. Carmel Massacre, too, so this is his second ambush in the Waco area.