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WACO, Texas (AP) —
A grand jury has returned indictments for engaging in organized criminal activity against 106 of the 177 bikers arrested following the deadly shootout outside a Waco, Texas, restaurant in May, the McLennan County district attorney said.
In a nine-hour session, the grand jury acted on all 106 cases that it had been asked to consider related to the shootout between police and bikers outside a Twin Peaks restaurant on May 17, District Attorney Abel Reyna said at a press conference Tuesday evening.
Reyna said the grand jury will return to consider charges against the other 71 bikers arrested on identical charges.
The next grand jury session is scheduled for Nov. 18, but Reyna declined to say if the rest of the cases will be presented then.
"We are not done," Reyna said. "We still have a lot of work to do. We will continue to do that. My office is dedicated, as is the team, to seeing that justice is done in all those cases."
Nine people died and 20 were injured during the shooting, which authorities say arose from an apparent confrontation between the Bandidos and the Cossacks motorcycle clubs.
More than 430 weapons were recovered from the crime scene, including 151 firearms. The gunfire erupted shortly before a meeting of a coalition of motorcycle clubs that advocates for rider safety.
Investigators have offered few details about what sparked the fight or how the gunfire played out. It remains unclear whose bullets struck those who died or were hurt, and no one has been charged in any of the deaths.
John Wilson, the president of the McLennan County Cossacks, and his son, Jacob Wilson, were both indicted Tuesday. Wilson said that he had "full confidence" neither he nor his son would be convicted and that he would refuse a plea bargain if offered.
The indictment "doesn't mean much," he said, adding he believes that since the indictments were done in such a short amount of time that they were "a cookie-cutter deal."
Six of San Antonio-based attorney Jay Norton's clients were indicted Tuesday. He said that based on the pretrial discovery materials he had reviewed in the case, there was a "serious lack of evidence" to indict 106 people.
"This is amazing and truly scary. We do not understand what the district attorney's office is doing, but it's not about reality," he said.
First Assistant District Attorney Michael Jarrett didn't respond to a request for comment late Tuesday night.
The last person held in connection with the shootout was released from jail last week. Like the others, he was initially held on a $1 million bond on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. His bond was reduced to $50,000.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) —
An assistant principal at a middle school in San Antonio has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old high school girl.
Bexar (bayr) County jail records show 42-year-old Severo Campos Jr. was being held Wednesday on a charge of sexual assault of a child.
Online jail records do not list an attorney to speak for Campos, whose bond was set at $75,000.
Campos is an assistant principal of E.T. Wrenn Middle School in the Edgewood Independent School District. Authorities say he's accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a teen who attends John F. Kennedy High School.
The district put Campos on administrative leave following his arrest Monday at a location away from campus.
DALLAS (AP) —
Parades and other patriotic events are part of celebrations across Texas to mark Veterans Day.
Wednesday is the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918.
Gov. Greg Abbott delivers remarks on the steps of the Texas Capitol following a Veterans Day parade in downtown Austin.
Parades were also scheduled Wednesday in other Texas cities, including Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Laredo. A remembrance ceremony was planned at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
Some salutes to military veterans are later. The Texas Tech University Matador Singers will perform Thursday night in Lubbock at a free Veterans Day concert at Hemmle Recital Hall.