Judge points to ‘sheer volume’ of cases in explaining nearly two-year wait for trial following shootout at Twin Peaks restaurant in May 2015

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The first trial over a gunfight in central Texas between rival motorcycle gangs that left nine people dead, 20 hurt and more than 150 bikers charged has been set for April, 23 months after the shootout at a Waco restaurant.

Waco shootout: how a friendly Sunday get-together ended in a biker bloodbath Read more

Several of those charged over the gunfire at a Twin Peaks restaurant have been seeking a speedy trial.

“In complex cases, it’s not uncommon for the trial to occur 18 months to two years after the alleged incident occurred,” 54th district judge Matt Johnson, who will preside over some of the trials, told the Waco Tribune-Herald.

“It’s not like we had a shortage of cases before Twin Peaks came along,” said 19th district judge Ralph Strother, who also will handle some of the trials.

“It’s just the vagaries of the system, the complexity of the cases and the sheer volume that is present in the criminal justice system.”

Strother is scheduled to get the first case, set for 17 April. The next follows in June, with seven cases then alternating between Strother and Johnson each month.

Court records show the seven bikers with tentative trial dates are either Bandidos or Cossacks, members of motorcycle clubs the state considers to be gangs which had gathered for a meeting at the restaurant.

The first to stand trial likely will be Christopher Jacob Carrizal, his father, Christopher Julian Carrizal, or Jerry Edward Pierson, all Bandidos from Dallas.

McLennan County prosecutors have said the first case is likely to take about two weeks.

Besides pushing for speedy trials and dismissal of charges, attorneys for some of the 155 indicted bikers have sought a change of venue and to disqualify district attorney Abel Reyna from handling the cases.

Waco shootout: who are the Bandidos motorcycle gang? Read more

In September, a grand jury declined to recommend charges for three Waco police officers who shot bikers during May 2015 gunfight.

Prosecutors had asked the grand jury if the shootings were justified. The officers were cleared by an internal police investigation.

Ballistics reports seen by the Associated Press show that four of the people killed were struck by the caliber of rifle round fired by Waco police, and that two were struck only by that kind of rifle.

Police and the district attorney’s office have defended the officers’ use of force, saying bikers opened fire on police.

The bikers were indicted on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity.