Amid criticism, Texas DA dismisses more cases in 2015 biker gang shootout
WACO, Texas - A Texas prosecutor on Wednesday dismissed 13 more cases against bikers stemming from a 2015 shootout at a Waco restaurant, CBS affiliate KWTX reports.
McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna made the announcement Wednesday, a day before scheduled hearings for 10 of the bikers. The May 2015 shootout at Waco's Twin Peaks restaurant left nine bikers dead, and 20 injured. The bikers faced charges of engaging in organized criminal activity.
Of the original 154 bikers indicted, prosecutors are still pursuing 128 cases. Reyna said his office would not pursue cases against 24 bikers who were arrested but not indicted.
Earlier this month, Reyna dismissed 13 cases hours before a hearing where he was due to testify on corruption allegations against him. The sole case to be tried resulted in a mistrial in November, when jurors were unable to reach a verdict on two of the counts against Jacob Carrizal.
According to a written statement issued on Feb 8, the D.A. is still waiting to receive evidence in possession of the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Antonio.
"We have requested this evidence, but will not be permitted to view this evidence until the conclusion of the federal trial sometime in March," Reyna wrote.
Reyna also responded to accusations against him in the ongoing corruption investigation: "The continued abuse of the criminal justice process and repeated attempts at political smear tactics are nothing more than an attempt to vote me out of office, avoid justice and distract from the events of May 17th, 2015," he wrote.
