Judge appoints special prosecutors in pending Twin Peaks trial

A retired senior judge from Houston who is acting as judge in a pending Twin Peaks trial Tuesday appointed three Houston area private attorneys to act as special prosecutors in the case.

Retired senior Judge Douglas Shaver named attorneys Brian M. Roberts, Brian Benken and Feroz Merchant to serve as prosecutors for the state’s case against Matthew Clendennen, a Hewitt man charged and indicted in the Twin Peaks shooting case.

Clendennen is among 154 defendants indicted in connection with the May 17, 2015 gunfight that broke out between rival biker gangs and police outside the Twin Peaks restaurant, which left nine dead and more than two dozen injured.

Clendennen’s lawyer, F. Clinton Broden, was successful last week in forcing District Attorney Abel Reyna to step aside voluntarily from prosecuting the Clendennen case, which required Shaver to appoint a prosecutor in his place.

Roberts, according to his law firm’s website, is an experienced criminal defense lawyer with knowledge in several areas of the law.

Benken, also a long-time criminal defense attorney in Harris County, lists only criminal defense as his area of practice.

Merchant also practices criminal defense law, but is the only one among the three that shows experience as a prosecutor in his background.