Waco: Jury selection halted in first Twin Peaks trial
The start of jury selection for the first trial of a biker charged in the deadly May 2015 shooting at Waco’s Twin Peaks restaurant halted abruptly Friday after defense attorneys said they were not ready to proceed.
Jury selection was abruptly halted in the first trial of a biker charged in the deadly May 2015 shooting at Waco’s Twin Peaks restaurant
Jury selection was set to begin Friday for the May 22 trial of Christopher Carrizal, a member of the Bandidos biker gang, who was one of the 177 bikers arrested after the May 17, 2015 shootout that left 9 bikers dead and more than 20 others injured.
He was later indicted for engaging in organized criminal activity.
According to courthouse sources, Waco defense attorney Landon Northcutt came to court Friday seeking to withdraw as council, but that quickly changed to a motion to substitute council with Houston defense attorney Casie Gotro.
Judge Ralph Strother, of the 19th District Court, said in open court it appeared as though the defense was playing games, calling it a “sham,” and said he was not going to continue the case to a later date.
State prosecutors and defense attorneys then went into the Courthouse Annex to work on the panel for the trial.
At that time, when the judge asked the state if it was ready, prosecutors replied “ready,” but when the judge asked the defense if it was ready, Gotro announced “not ready,” sources said.
Both sides went into the judge’s chambers, and when they came back out, Strother announced he had to dismiss the panel because of circumstances beyond everyone’s control, and the matter had to be continued.
Calls to the offices of Northcutt and Gotro were not immediately returned.
District Attorney Abel Reyna would not comment, saying he was instructed by the court not to communicate with the media regarding this case.
The trials of Carrizal, his father Christopher Julian Carrizal, and Jerry Edward Pierson, all of Dallas, were originally scheduled to begin on April 17, but on March 3, Strother granted a request for a continuance from Northcutt, who represented all three of the suspects.
