Judge extends stay in Twin Peaks civil cases http://www.wacotrib.com/news/city_of_waco/judge-extends-stay-in-twin-peaks-civil-cases/article_82f65948-f598-50c6-966c-227849bf1887.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-shareA federal judge has extended a stay until Sept. 1 in the civil rights lawsuits filed by bikers arrested but not indicted in the Twin Peaks shootout until.
However, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks warned McLennan County and city of Waco officials that after that, he would need more than their assurances that cases against the unindicted bikers "remain under investigation" to convince him to keep the stay in place.
Sparks, of Austin, stayed proceedings in the Twin Peaks civil cases in August, saying the criminal prosecutions of the 155 bikers indicted in the cases took precedent over the civil lawsuits.
Attorneys for those bikers who were arrested but not indicted asked Sparks to lift the stay in their cases, but the judge, in a recent ruling, left the stay in place until at least Sept. 1.
The lawsuits name as defendants former Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman, Waco police Detective Manuel Chavez, McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna, the city of Waco and McLennan County.
The bikers claim their civil rights were violated when city and county officials decided to arrest 177 bikers on identical charges and place them under $1 million bonds after the May 17, 2015, shootout in which nine bikers died and dozens were injured.
“I’m disappointed that Reyna and Stroman continue to hide behind the unsubstantiated claim that even those who have not been indicted are ‘still under investigation,’ " Dallas attorney Don Tittle said. "Not only have they agreed to drop all bond conditions for many of these individuals, many of their lawyers have been told directly that there is little to no chance that their client will be indicted. Regardless, come Sept. 1 we’ll be ready to start putting some people under oath.”
Tittle has filed suits on behalf of 31 bikers. Of those, only seven are indicted.
