UPDATE: May 18, 2015, 1:55 PM EDT
WACO, Texas (AP) —About 170 motorcycle gang members charged with engaging in organized crime are each being held on a $1 million bond in the wake of a deadly shootout in Texas, and authorities say capital murder charges are expected.
McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. Peterson set the bond Monday for each suspect and described the amount as “appropriate” given the level of violence that occurred a day earlier at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco.
Peterson also performed inquests on the nine dead bikers but declined to identify them pending notification of family. Peterson says all nine were from Texas.
Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton says while capital murder charges are likely, it’s too early to determine how many motorcycle gang members will face the charge.
The head of the Texas Department of Public Safety says the violence that unfolded in Waco when rival motorcycle gangs opened fire on each other in a restaurant parking lot is unprecedented.
DPS Director Steve McCraw, a former FBI agent, said Monday that the shootout Sunday was the first time “we’ve seen this type of violence in broad daylight.”
McCraw’s agency sent Texas Rangers to process the crime scene and special agents who target motorcycle gangs.
He wouldn’t reveal details about what prompted the melee that killed nine bikers. Waco police say a dispute that began in a Twin Peaks restaurant bathroom spilled into the parking lot.
McCraw says DPS is constantly monitoring biker gangs and that motorcycle gang violence dates back to at least the 1970s.
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