Cops: 170 Bikers Could Face Capital Murder Charges

Bail set at $1 million each after Waco shootout
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2015 11:38 PM CDT
Updated May 19, 2015 12:30 AM CDT
Cops: 170 Bikers Could Face Capital Murder Charges
Authorities search a vacant lot near the Twin Peaks restaurant on Monday, May 18, 2015, in Waco, Texas.   (AP Photo, Jerry Larson)

The McLennan County Jail is full of bikers after Sunday's gang shootout in Waco, and they're likely to be there for a while: Bail has been set at $1 million each for around 170 people arrested and charged with engaging in organized crime, reports the Dallas Morning News. The violence left nine people dead, and police spokesman Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton says some, or even all, of those in custody could face capital murder charges, KWTX reports. Swanton says he doesn't want to give the gangs involved "the respect" of mentioning their names, though the county sheriff says all nine people killed were from the Bandidos and Cossacks gangs, the AP reports. Police say members of five gangs had gathered for a meeting at the Twin Peaks restaurant.

McLennan County Justice of the Peace WH Peterson says all nine dead bikers were from Texas, but he won't identify them until their families have been notified, the AP reports. A law enforcement source tells CNN that preliminary information indicates that four of the bikers were killed by gunfire from police, who say they returned fire after the feuding bikers turned their weapons on them. The Twin Peaks restaurant, part of a nationwide chain, will not be reopening again, the Waco Tribune-Herald reports. In a statement, the chain's corporate office said it had revoked the Waco location's franchise agreement because it had chosen "to ignore the warnings and advice from both the police and our company." (More Waco, Texas stories.)

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