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McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson Rod Aydelotte/Associated Press

Officials say probe into deadliest biker shootout in US history would be 'waste of time' as charges dropped

A total of 177 bikers were arrested after the shooting.

ALL CHARGES IN an investigation into a shootout between rival biker gangs that left nine people dead at a restaurant in Waco, Texas will be dropped.

Prosecutors in the US state confirmed the news yesterday, saying there would be no convictions in relation to the deadliest biker shooting in US history.

McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson said any further effort to prosecute the case would be a “waste of time, effort and resources”.

“In my opinion, had this action been taken in a timely manner, it would have, and should have, resulted in numerous convictions and prison sentences against many of those who participated in the Twin Peaks brawl,” Johnson said.

“Over the next three years the prior district attorney failed to take that action, for reasons that I do not know to this day.”

The shooting outside the restaurant on 17 May, 2015, which involved two rival biker gangs happened as bikers from various groups were gathering to talk, before fights and gunfire broke out.

Waco police officers monitoring the gathering also fired on the bikers, killing at least two people.

Surveillance footage showed many bikers running from the scene and ducking for cover after gunshots rang out.

A smaller number could be seen pointing and firing weapons, slinging chains or participating in fistfights.

Law enforcement officers recovered dozens of firearms, knives and other weapons from the restaurant and an adjacent parking lot.

A total of 177 bikers were arrested after the shooting, then charged 155 of them with engaging in organised criminal activity. Many were held on a $1 million bond.

Former District Attorney Abel Reyna ultimately dropped charges against all but 24 and re-indicted them on riot charges. However, those charges came to an end on Tuesday.

“It’s a travesty that so many people were rounded up and then investigated, instead of vice versa,” Mark Snodgrass, president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said on Tuesday.

“A lot of these people’s lives were put on hold for four years.”

In a statement, Reyna said he disagreed with the overall result, but acknowledged it was the decision of prosecutors on how to proceed with their cases.

With reporting from Associated Press.

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    Mute Dessie Deratta
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    Apr 5th 2018, 12:52 AM

    I like Stranger Things….better than the average series.

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    Mute Toomasu Sumitsu
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    Apr 5th 2018, 8:27 AM

    @Dessie Deratta: they should use that quote in their next advertising campaign

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    Mute Ted Murray
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    Apr 5th 2018, 12:26 AM

    US TV programmes and Movies have been telling the same stories since the 1920s, and have just changed the time, the names of the characters, and the location, hoping that people think that they’re new ideas.

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    Mute Daniel Wilson
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    Apr 5th 2018, 8:28 AM

    @Ted Murray: you sure it wasn’t the 30s? Some pretty original stuff back in the 20s

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    Mute Robc
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    Apr 5th 2018, 12:30 AM

    First series ok
    Second series sh!te

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    Mute Andy K
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    Apr 5th 2018, 7:20 AM

    @Robc: Second series was a huge disappointment.

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    Mute A Piece of Chalk
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    Apr 4th 2018, 11:37 PM

    Awful programme. Whole thing felt like one big Stephen King ripoff.

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    Mute Stephen Boland
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    Apr 5th 2018, 12:11 AM

    @A Piece of Chalk: explain… what Stephen King novels did it rip off exactly? Is it just because a lot of King novels were adapted into movies (albeit mostly poorly) in the 80s?

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    Mute Ted Murray
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    Apr 5th 2018, 12:20 AM

    @Stephen Boland: ___ Don’t forget the “like watching paint dry” TV “epic” – The Mist that had the plug pulled after one season.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Apr 5th 2018, 12:38 AM

    @Ted Murray: the movie was good though.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Apr 5th 2018, 12:39 AM

    @A Piece of Chalk: wasn’t a rip off. The creators have a clue owledged a few hat tips to King’s work and he has in turn complimented the show and said he’s happy to have inspired

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    Mute Dessie Deratta
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    Apr 5th 2018, 12:51 AM

    @Dave O Keeffe: What?

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    Mute Andy K
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    Apr 5th 2018, 7:21 AM

    @Dave O Keeffe: Best ending of any movie. Ever. Better than the ending in the book.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Apr 5th 2018, 11:08 AM

    @Andy K: the tragic ending? There were a few endings filmed. I’ve definitely seen two.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Apr 5th 2018, 11:09 AM

    @Dessie Deratta: sorry *acknowledged. New phone, same old problems

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    Mute Danny Rafferty
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    Apr 5th 2018, 5:52 AM

    Well I thought it lifted more from Lovecraft than King, and enjoyed it all the more.

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    Mute Andy Cahalan
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    Apr 5th 2018, 5:43 AM

    What about the two lads who actually made up the story back in the 80′s? Both parties involved are plagiarists anyway.

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    Mute Seán Ó Briain
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    Apr 5th 2018, 1:01 PM

    One of the best shows of the past 10 years. Love it.

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    Mute Dave McCrea
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    Apr 5th 2018, 2:27 PM

    Are his lawyers idiots? “Defendants have made huge sums of money by producing the series based on Plaintiff’s concepts”. I don’t even have a law degree and I’m coming right back with “a concept is not copyrightable intellectual property, only the expression of it is”, which is so basic a ‘concept’ it was a line in Fatal Attraction. (Bang the gavel sound). NEXT!

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