Child porn discovered on phones seized after Twin Peaks shootout

Waco investigators reviewed hundreds of thousands of images from 206 cellphones and five other electronic devices seized after the Twin Peaks shootout following the discovery of child pornography on some of the phones, McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna confirmed Wednesday.

Attorneys who represent the 177 bikers arrested after the May 2015 shootout between rival biker gangs and law enforcement officers were advised earlier of the discovery in an email, sources said.

The email said child pornography was “found on multiple phones” while evidence was being processed and advised the attorneys that Waco police must do a full review and investigation of the phones, which could take some time and could briefly delay the release of some evidence during one phase of the discovery process.

The May 17, 2015 shootout left nine bikers dead and 20 more injured.

Police arrested the 177 bikers after the melee, all of whom were charged with engaging in organized crime and all of whom were initially ordered held in lieu of $1 million bonds.

In March, a McLennan County grand jury handed up indictments in the cases of some of the 80 bikers who were charged, but not yet indicted in the deadly May shootout at Waco’s Twin Peaks restaurant, as well as several who weren't arrested on the day of the shooting.

The indictments charge engaging in organized crime.

Six of the indictments were sealed and named defendants who weren’t arrested at the scene of the shooting.

On November 11, 2015, a grand jury returned indictments charging engaging in organized criminal activity against 97 bikers and also handed up sealed indictments against nine other bikers who weren’t among those arrested

To date, nearly 40 of the bikers arrested after the shootout have yet to be indicted.