Jury selection to begin in first Twin Peaks case

[Elderberry]

Waco Trib by Tommy Witherspoon 10/9/2017

Jury selection in the trial of the first of the May 2015 Twin Peaks shootout defendants is set to begin Tuesday morning.

A panel of about 150 prospective jurors filled out five-page questionnaires Monday morning and were told to report again at 9 a.m. Tuesday for the beginning of jury selection.

Jacob Carrizal, 36, Bandidos Dallas chapter president, is the first of the 154 indicted Twin Peaks bikers to go to trial. Carrizal, an employee of a Dallas railway company, is charged with one count of directing activities of a criminal street gang, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity with murder as an underlying charge and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity with aggravated assault as the underlying charge.

After the prospective jurors were released Monday, 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson conducted a pretrial hearing in the afternoon to wrap up some last-minute discovery matters and to rule on various motions from the state and Carrizal's attorneys, Casie Gotro and Thomas Lane.

More: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/twin-peaks-biker-shooting/jury-selection-to-begin-in-first-twin-peaks-case/article_0b669b9c-fdbd-5e22-b8d5-745e28b0095c.html

[Elderberry]

Jury selection for first Twin Peaks trial will continue for 2nd day

The process of seating a jury for the first trial of a Twin Peaks shootout defendant will continue for a second day Wednesday.

About 150 prospective jurors reported Tuesday morning, and by late Tuesday afternoon the pool had been reduced to about 140 after prosecutors completed their examination of the panel.

Defense attorney Casie Gotro started her examination late Tuesday afternoon.

http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/McLennan-County-Courthouse-ready-for-Twin-Peaks-Trial-450028163.html

[Elderberry]

Judge Matt Johnson recessed the jury panel at about 5 p.m. Tuesday after District Attorney Abel Reyna and his first assistant, Michael Jarrett, and Carrizal's attorney, Casie Gotro, spent most of the day trying to seat a jury of 12, plus two alternates.

Court officials expect opening statements from attorneys and testimony to start after the jury is seated Wednesday. Prosecutors expect to open testimony with pathologists who performed autopsies on the nine bikers, officials said.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/courts_and_trials/jury-selection-gets-underway-in-carrizal-twin-peaks-shootout-case/article_9d14017f-cc6d-5473-b263-9c65bc4d213c.html

[Elderberry]

One panel member defined a criminal street gang as "people who don't work for a living," drawing laughter from the group.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/courts_and_trials/jury-selection-gets-underway-in-carrizal-twin-peaks-shootout-case/article_9d14017f-cc6d-5473-b263-9c65bc4d213c.html

[IsailedawayfromFR]

This thing seems to have lasted forever.  And they are now just getting to jury selection?

[Elderberry]

This thing seems to have lasted forever.  And they are now just getting to jury selection?

And they are going to schedule 2 cases a month, with 2 judges trying the cases.

I wouldn't be surprised if it takes another 8 years to get thru all the civil suits.

[Elderberry]

The judge is seating the jury now.

Judge is releasing the jury until 2:30 p.m. The jury is made up of 11 men and 3 women. Two are alternates.

The judge denied a motion to quash the indictment.

The trial will reconvene in 54th State District Court on the third floor of the main courthouse.