Mom wants answers one year after Waco biker melee: 'Who killed my son?'By Dane Schiller
May 13, 2016
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Mom-wants-answers-one-year-after-Waco-biker-7467774.phpClub members dubbed the May 17, 2015 gun battle the Waco Biker Massacre, and it cast a national spotlight on the insular world of motorcycle clubs.
It is also one of the largest criminal conspiracy cases ever prosecuted in Texas, and appears to have overwhelmed the local criminal justice system in McClennan County.
No trial dates have been set for the 157 people later indicted, despite pleas from defense lawyers for their day in court.
Authorities still have not spelled out who among the bikers is believed to have shot, stabbed or punched another, and who may have been killed or wounded by police.
The names of the officers involved in the shooting remain secret, and officials won't say if their actions were ever reviewed by internal affairs or a grand jury.
Even where and how a trial would be held is unclear. McLennan County's historic domed courthouse, built in 1901, seems far too small to handle so many defendants and lawyers, let alone spectators and media.
"It is remarkable," said Sandra Guerra Thompson, director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law School. "The number of people killed, the number arrested, the number of officers - it is very much like the Wild West. ... I don't think anyone has seen a case where there have been so many defendants."
Authorities point to a judge's gag order that prohibits them from commenting publicly.
"Our investigation on the Twin Peaks case is ongoing," Waco Police Sgt. Patrick Swanton said. "We are under a gag order and by such are not allowed to comment on matters related to the case."
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