The Latest on Waco shooting: Arrest costs bus driver’s job
May 20, 2015, 7:07 PM
(McLennan County Sheriff's Office via AP)
8:45 p.m. (CDT)
A former San Antonio police officer has been fired from his job as a school bus driver after his arrest following a deadly shootout involving bikers at a Texas restaurant.
A spokesman for the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio said that 62-year-old Martin Lewis was fired after district officials learned Wednesday of his arrest in Waco. Spokesman Pascual Gonzalez tells the San Antonio Express-News (http://bit.ly/1FCK4eE ) that Lewis had passed a background check when the district hired him in August 2014.
Lewis retired from the San Antonio Police Department in February 2004 after 32 years of service.
He’s jailed on $1 million bond. He’s charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
Online records for the jail do not indicate an attorney for Lewis who could comment on the charge or the district’s decision to fire him.
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6 p.m. (CDT)
The police count of the number of weapons recovered from the scene of the deadly Waco shootout continues to fluctuate.
Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton now says crime scene officers have made a new weapons count and come up with 318 “and still counting.” Swanton said he expected the count to continue to rise.
Of those weapons counted so far, 118 are handguns, one is an AK-47 assault-style rifle and 157 are knives. Swanton says weapons still uncounted are clubs, knives, brass knuckles, firearms and chains with padlocks attached.
Earlier, Swanton had lowered an estimate of recovered weapons from about 1,000 to about 500. The uncertainty over the count prompted Swanton to ask the police crime scene supervisor to give him a firmer count.
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5 p.m. (CDT)
A motorcycle gang shootout in Texas that left nine people dead and 18 others wounded has put law enforcement agencies on alert for an annual motorcycle gathering in northern New Mexico.
Authorities say they have heightened awareness for the Memorial Day Motorcycle Rally in Red River that’s expected to attract 20,000 bikers, though spillover violence isn’t expected.
Red River Town Marshal David Smith says he’ll tell offices to be extra vigilant.
Past attendees of the New Mexico event in the state’s Enchanted Circle include members of the Bandidos, who authorities say were involved in the shooting in Waco.
About 170 bikers have been charged with engaging in organized crime stemming from the shooting, with bond set at $1 million for each suspect.
After meeting with federal authorities, Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said local agencies don’t have any intelligence that tensions from the Waco brawl will continue at the New Mexico rally.
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4:15 p.m. (CDT)
Police have again revised the number of weapons recovered from the scene of a Texas shootout last weekend where nine people were killed.
Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said Wednesday the estimate now stands at about 500. Earlier Wednesday he had said 1,000 weapons were found. On Tuesday, he said the expectation was that about 100 weapons would be found following Sunday’s violence.
The numbers are all estimates because police haven’t finished collecting evidence. He says information is being relayed to him by on-scene investigators.
Swanton says investigators have found an AK-47 assault rifle taken from a vehicle, handguns, knives, brass knuckles, clubs and chains.
He acknowledged the items included pocket knives and Swiss army knives.
Swanton says weapons were found in toilets, bags of chips and elsewhere at a Twin Peaks restaurant.
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3:45 p.m. (CDT)
Security camera video reviewed by The Associated Press shows that as gunfire broke out in the parking lot of a Texas restaurant, dozens of bikers ran for cover inside and tried to guide others to safety.
The video suggests the Sunday gunfight that left nine dead was contained almost entirely outside the restaurant, besides one gunshot fired by a biker on the patio who then runs inside.
On the patio, bikers are seen ducking under the tables and trying to run inside. At least three people were seen holding handguns. One biker is seen running with blood on his face, hands and torso.
The AP was shown the video by representatives of the Twin Peaks restaurant franchise. They have not released the video, citing the ongoing police investigation.
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3:15 p.m. (CDT)
Police contend about 1,000 weapons were recovered from the scene of a Texas shootout in which nine members of motorcycle groups were killed and 18 others injured.
Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said Wednesday the weapons included an AK-47 assault rifle taken from a vehicle, handguns, knives, brass knuckles, clubs and chains. A day earlier Swanton had said 100 weapons were expected to be recovered.
He acknowledged the weapons included pocket knives and Swiss army knives confiscated by authorities.
Johnny Snyder, vice president of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club in Waco, said some people licensed to carry had firearms in their vehicles when they arrived but didn’t bring them into the restaurant Sunday where the shootout occurred.
Swanton says weapons were found in toilets, bags of chips and elsewhere.
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2:30 p.m. (CDT)
A motorcycle gang shootout in Texas that left nine people dead has elevated security concerns for the upcoming Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.
The annual rally draws hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to South Dakota’s Black Hills. Organizers are expecting up to 1 million people for the 75th anniversary event in early August.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley told the Argus Leader newspaper (http://argusne.ws/1AliGQ2 ) that his office has contacted authorities in Texas about the shootout in Waco on Sunday that involved rival motorcycle gangs.
Jackley said the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation plans to keep a command center open longer during the rally.
Sturgis City Manager Daniel Ainslie says officials will be “vigilant to ensure the safety” of rally-goers. But he says rally organizers aren’t planning additional security beyond what the city already had planned.
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10:25 a.m. (CDT)
One of the men arrested in the aftermath of a motorcycle gang shootout in Central Texas that left nine dead is a retired San Antonio police detective.
San Antonio police and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement confirmed that 62-year-old Martin Lewis worked for the department for more than 30 years before retiring in 2004. Lewis was among about 170 people arrested in Waco and charged with engaging in organized crime. Each person is being held on a $1 million bond.
Online records for the McLennan County jail do not indicate an attorney for Lewis who could comment on the charge.
A confederation of motorcycle groups had gathered at a Twin Peaks restaurant Sunday when a dispute in the parking lot escalated into deadly violence.
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