OFF THE WIRE
WACO -- Stephen Stubbs, the attorney for the Bandidos Motorcycle
club, released the following statement regarding the Twin Peaks Shooting
investigation:
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club
(hereafter, “Bandidos”) is saddened by the incident that took place at
the Twin Peaks Restaurant in Waco, Texas on May 17, 2015. The violence
was senseless, completely unnecessary, and wrong.
From
the beginning, the Waco Police Department has freely spoken to the
press and said many things that have since been proven untrue. This
false narrative is damaging to everyone involved. Still, the Waco Police
department continues to feed false information to the public, and at
the same time is refusing to disclose important information/evidence
(such as video evidence and autopsy reports) that would independently
prove what really occurred. The Waco Police Department refuses to speak
beyond their planned narrative, claiming that they do not want to
“influence a potential jury pool” or “interfere with the investigation”.
However, this is nonsense as nothing in the video and/or autopsy
reports will alter or change any part of their investigation. The
release of the video and/or autopsy reports would simply clear up
rampant misinformation. If the Waco Police Department didn't want to
interfere with the investigation or influence a potential jury pool, it
should not have released its false narrative in the first place and
instead should have stayed silent during the entirety of the
investigation. They did not, and now, after the false information has
been widely reported, the Waco Police Department is content to feed the
false narrative and allow the public to believe falsehoods. Therefore,
the Bandidos demand that all video evidence and autopsy reports be
released immediately to clear up the damaging misinformation that is
running wild.
The following is true and correct:
1)
The Bandidos were at the Twin Peaks restaurant to attend an organized
political meeting and nothing else. A regional meeting for the Texas
Confederation of Clubs and Independents (a bona fide political
organization centered on Constitutional rights) was scheduled, and a
prominent member of the Bandidos was the key-note speaker at the
meeting. This Bandido key-note speaker was to report on the National
Coalition of Motorcyclist event that occurred weeks earlier. Because
COCI members from across the state were expected to attend this special
meeting, it was purposefully scheduled in Waco, TX, a central city
between Austin and Dallas.
2) The Bandidos have no
knowledge of any other meeting. The Bandidos are aware that members of
other motorcycle clubs are claiming that there were plans to meet with
the Bandidos in Waco, TX on May 17, 2015. This claim is not true.
3) All weapons in possession of members the Bandidos were legally owned and carried.
4)
Members of the Bandidos were not aggressors, did not start the
altercation, did not strike first, were not the first to pull weapons,
and were not the first to use weapons. The majority of the Bandidos took
cover, and all involvement in the altercation by members of the
Bandidos was in self-defense. Texas law allows people to defend
themselves with the same amount of force that is exerted against them,
and a few members of the Bandidos acted in accordance with these laws.
In fact, members of the Bandidos involved in the incident did not even
have time or opportunity to get off of their motorcycles before police
came in.