The Aging Rebel 8/31/2018
In a phone hearing this morning, before 7 a.m. Pacific Time, 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother in McLennan County Texas indefinitely continued the trial of Bandidos Motorcycle Club San Antonio chapter president Tom Modesto Mendez.
Mendez had been scheduled to stand trial September 10. He is accused of first degree felony riot for allegedly participating in the so-called “Biker Brawl†at the now defunct Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco on May 17, 2015. The brawl erupted after a pack of about 20 Bandidos and their supporters were ambushed by about 70 members of the Cossacks Motorcycle Club and their supporters in a police instigated, premeditated attack.
Mendez would have been the second Bandido chapter officer to be tried for attending a Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents meeting at the restaurant that Sunday. Dallas chapter president Christopher Jacob Carrizal was charged with numerous felonies, including nine counts of murder, last fall. The trial lingered for more than six weeks. Prosecutors blatantly withheld numerous items of evidence – much of it exculpatory. Eventually the jury hung and judge Matt Johnson declared a mistrial.
Sua SponteStrother acted sua sponte, which is lawyer’s Latin for acting without a motion, when he indefinitely postponed the Mendez trial today. Strother told prosecutors Gabriel Price, Robert Moody, Gabrielle Massey, Hilary LaBorde and Staci Scaman that he “felt uncomfortable with the case†because it “could result in an absurd verdict.â€
Although Mendez is formally charged with rioting, he is actually being charged, de facto, with three counts of murder. Prosecutors claim to have evidence that Mendez fired a gun during the melee. From a distance, the case against him looks like a desperate attempt by lame duck district attorney Abel Reyna to justify his handling of more than 200 criminal cases that resulted from the Twin Peaks tragedy.
More:
http://www.agingrebel.com/16935
