What the Hell Happened in Waco "Biker Brawl"?

UPDATED; ADDITIONAL INFO I have not previously covered the 1%er motorcycle clubs (though I have been considering launching a new blog dedicated to that volatile world).

However in the recent Waco, Texas, case, I have some inside information  from a knowledgeable source that seems to jibe with recently published reports.




My information is that all nine of the bikers slain in the not-so-widely covered Waco, Texas incident were killed by law enforcement officials. This was not another case of what happened in 2002 at Harrah's in Laughlin, when members of the Hell's Angels and Mongols suddenly clashed inside a packed casino, indiscriminately shooting at each other --and any civilians caught in the crossfire (see actual surveillance footage, below).

Another interesting trend has to do with the Mexican Cartels -- seems they have been ramping up production of meth and cocaine for distribution inside the United States. This is because America's laws regarding marijuana continue to evolve. 

Apparently the cartels expect weed to be widely legal here to the extent that there will be no more profit in selling that particular drug.

As the Washington Post reported:

Mexican traffickers are sending a flood of cheap heroin and methamphetamine across the U.S. border, the latest drug seizure statistics show, in a new sign that America’s marijuana decriminalization trend is upending the North American narcotics trade. 

The amount of cannabis seized by U.S. federal, state and local officers along the boundary with Mexico has fallen 37 percent since 2011, a period during which American marijuana consumers have increasingly turned to the more potent, higher-grade domestic varieties cultivated under legal and quasi-legal protections in more than two dozen U.S. states.

In any event we believe the southern-based biker gangs will begin killing each other more than ever because of the increasingly profitable drug business's "new paradigm."

One story caught my eye:

Just How Badly Are Authorities Screwing Up The Arrest Of 170 Bikers In Texas?

It's from the Above the Law blog. 

Also, since many readers typically comment I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on whether I should begin a blog focused on outlaw bikers -- it seems there's more action in that world than Cosa Nostra these days.

Of course, I could also simply fold any biker coverage into this blog, too. Let me know.....


On Sunday afternoon, an enormous biker gang brawl broke out at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas. Authorities claim that when members of several motorcycle gangs, including the Bandidos and Cossacks, gathered to hash out an ongoing turf war, the meeting turned bloody. When the scene quieted, a reported nine people were dead, at least 18 seriously wounded, and 170 or so in police custody.

Bikers can be some bad mothers f*ckers. The state of Texas identifies gangs such as the Bandidos as serious organized crime syndicates, deeply entangled with Mexican drug cartels and other ne’er-do-wells, every bit as nasty as notorious groups like the Bloods and Crips.

So, why should civil libertarians care what happens to 170 or so bikers in Waco? A closer look reveals how authorities arrested too many, set bail too high, and charged with too much. The results not only infringe on the civil liberties of many of those arrested, but will create a disaster for the criminal justice system in and around Waco.

Here’s why.

It’s Not Obvious That Everyone There Was Breaking The Law

Waco police spokesman Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton told the Associated Press on Thursday that all those killed or injured were part of five criminal motorcycle gangs. “They were not here to drink and eat barbecue,” Swanton said earlier this week. “They came here with violence in mind.”

However, loved ones of some of the bikers claim that law-abiding members of motorcycle clubs were gathering for a meeting of motorcycle enthusisasts, with no violent intentions. The family of one of the victims, Jesus Delgado Rodriguez, a man with no criminal history and a Purple Heart from Vietnam, say he was not affiliated with a gang. One of those arrested was himself a retired detective from the San Antonio Police Department. The AP reports that “more than 115 of the 170 people arrested in the aftermath of a motorcycle gang shootout outside a Central Texas restaurant have not been convicted of a crime in Texas.”

While there’s a first time for everything, there’s also good reason to think that some of the men and women picked up on Sunday might actually have gathered to, well, drink and eat barbecue.

Earlier this week, police told the press that they expected to recover 1,000 weapons from the scene. Yesterday, they revised that number to 318, 118 of which were handguns. Police also confiscated knives, brass knuckles, and items like chains with padlocks.

How many of the items are actual weapons? How many of the actual weapons are actually illegal?

Chapter 46 of the Texas Penal Code makes clear that not all knives are “illegal knives.” It’s not yet clear how many of the knives seized at the scene in Waco fall into the latter category.

Even some of the firearms confiscated could be legal. Holders of Texas concealed carry permits would not necessarily be violating the law by having guns on their person at the time the brawl broke out. Permit holders would only be violating Texas law if they were drunk while carrying, even if they were drinking.

In the state of Texas, all retailers of alcoholic beverages must post one of two signs announcing the status of firearm possession in the establishment. So, a bar will typically post a “51% Weapons Warning Sign” indicating that so much booze flows on those premises that no one, not even folks with valid concealed carry permits, is allowed to possess a concealed weapon. Restaurants will typically post a blue TABC Weapons Warning Sign warning folks of the penalty for people without a license. A blue sign means that someone with a CHL can carry on the premises. A 51% sign means they can’t.

The Twin Peaks restaurant where the shooting took place was not a 51% sign establishment, according to the TABC database.

Did any of those arrested on Sunday have CHLs? We don’t currently know because information on who is licensed to carry a concealed handgun in Texas is confidential and not subject to requests under the Public Information Act.

Cossacks' bottom rocker panel saying Texas a reason for a war?

$1 Million Is Certainly “Excessive Bail” For Many Of Those Arrested

Justice of the Peace W.H. “Pete” Peterson set bonds for more than 174 gang members charged with engaging in organized criminal activity at $1 million each. Even if this amount is appropriate for some of the defendants, it certainly counts as excessive for many.

When setting bail, the court must take into account the person’s ability to pay. One million dollars bond translates to a defendant’s family or friends coughing up $100,000 in cash. Few bail bondsmen in the vicinity of Waco would even be able to cover the amount needed to spring one of the bikers from jail. Even if a few bondsmen can, how likely is it that 170-plus will?

Why set such a high amount for everyone? Justice of the Peace Peterson told press that “I think it is important to send a message. We had nine people killed in our community. These people just came in, and most of them were from out of town. Very few of them were from in town.”

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 17.15 sets the rules for fixing the amount of bail. “Sending a message” is not among them. Bail is intended to ensure that the defendant will return for future court proceedings, not to punish people who haven’t yet been convicted of a crime.

The court’s decision to set bail so high for every defendant may turn out to doubly offensive to justice. For the average defendant, $1 million bond has the same effect as setting no bond at all. They simply won’t be able to pay it. Who will might manage to post bond? Gang leaders supported by the drug cartels and criminal syndicates. So, the people the authorities should most want to keep in jail are most likely to get sprung, while the folks who are least likely to have been serious criminals may be left to wallow.

The Costs

An avalanche of bond reduction hearings — and appeals — is virtually guaranteed. Defendants can challenge the initial amount whether through a motion for bond reduction or through an application for a writ of habeas corpus. If the court denies a habeas application, the defendant can immediately appeal. So, the courts may have to process interlocutory appeals if the bond isn’t reduced.

So far, all of the bikers arrested are being held for the offense of engaging in organized criminal activity leading to capital murder. That’s going to be tough to prove for most of the people arrested, many of whom will require state-funded defense counsel.

No one has yet been charged with capital murder (not that that fact matters for a conspiracy charge to stick). Given the high cost of prosecuting capital cases, though, McLennan County may end up not charging anyone with a death-eligible offense.

All of this amounts to a lot of money from public coffers, as well as massive headaches for an already burdened criminal justice system. Even if the people arrested in Waco on Sunday don’t deserve our sympathy, perhaps the court system now faced with processing and prosecuting nearly 200 defendants does.