In a stunning announcement, McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson said that his office is dropping all charges relating to a wild shootout between two notorious Texas biker gangs that left nine people dead.
The shootout happened in 2015 at a Twin Peaks in Waco when a planned meeting between members of the rival gangs turned violent. Waco police officers were monitoring the meeting and returned fire on the warring gangs. Nine people were killed and 20 people were injured in the shooting.
Police took 177 people into custody and charged 155 of them with engaging in organized criminal activity. Former District Attorney Abel Reyna decided to drop the charges against most of the suspects but filed riot charges against 24 individuals.
After nearly four years, the charges have yet to be resolved, and Johnson decided it was time to end the investigation. Only one case was brought to a trial, but it ended with a mistrial. In addition, over 100 of the bikers who were arrested filed a lawsuit claiming their civil rights were violated because they were arrested without probable cause.
"In my opinion, had this action been taken in a timely manner, it would have, and should have, resulted in numerous convictions and prison sentences against many of those who participated in the Twin Peaks brawl," Johnson said. "Over the next three years the prior district attorney failed to take that action, for reasons that I do not know to this day."