'Novel legal theory' is used to charge 106 people in biker shootout, lawyer says
A lawyer representing a biker charged in the May 16 shootout at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, says the prosecution is using an “identical novel legal theory” to charge 106 people.
Lawyer Paul Looney, who represents Cody Ledbetter, says in a motion that the prosecution of his client could serve as a case to test the theory and he wants an early trial, report the Waco Tribune and the Houston Chronicle.
The 106 bikers were indicted on Nov. 10 on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity, a first-degree felony. In his motion, Looney says the prosecution theory is that the bikers violated the law by arriving at the restaurant for a “bike-club informational meeting” while wearing motorcycle jackets for rival motorcycle gangs in a “show of force for a criminal street gang.”
Nine people died in the shootout. Ledbetter had one arm in a sling during the incident and has no arrest record.
