Bandido Jake Carrizal digs into chorizos and eggs with a smile
Waco – The curve balls thrown by practitioners of good old boy justice in this tight, dry, polite, cruel smile of a university town surprise no one, whether the saliva-soaked screwballs, sliders and sinkers come over the plate – or not.
Most people among the internet keyboard cognoscenti greeted the news that 19th Criminal District Judge Ralph T. Strother would force a hearing into his recusal in a fourth case – the first to come to trial of 155 indicted stem from a police massacre at Twin Peaks Restaurant on May 17, 2015, by saying it is nothing more than a holding action to delay the start of the first case.
This is the beginning of the 29th month since that fateful day, more violent that the gunfight at the OK Corral, in which authorities charged all the defendants with a single, non-specific violation of a murky conspiracy charge at the order of the Criminal District Attorney, Abel Reyna.
Social media has been abuzz with the opinion that the judge has been delaying justice since the community of motorcycle enthusiasts caught the drift of his conduct in refusing to read 18 subpoenas or order compliance with them – or to even put those summoned on the witness stand to answer questions from Casie Gotro, the Houston attorney who is defending Dallas Bandidos Chapter President Jake Carrizal on two counts of conspiracy – engaging in organized criminal activity, and directing the actions of a criminal organization.
Parnell McNamara, Sheriff, neglected to even show up. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety sat out the hearing without so much as a how do. Assistant Prosecutor Amanda Dillon hid out in the Grand Jury room for an entire business day dodging service of her subpoena.
No one so ordered has turned over any of the evidence sought.
Carrizal’s trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Tuesday, September 12.
When part of a special venire of 600 persons arrived – about 200 of them who crowded into the auxiliary courtroom of the McLennan County Courthouse on Friday, September 1, the judge had only just begun to brief them on the qualifications for jury duty and what would be expected of them when Carrizal’s attorney had a bailiff hand him a handwritten motion for his recusal.
Visibly shaken, he read how he is accused of assisting the DA’s staff to prosecute her client. And then he had the procsecution, defense and Carrizal join he and the court reporter in private for a quick conference.
According to rules of procedure, he had no choice, other than to decide he will not simply sign the recusal order and have done with the matter.
Ms. Gotro aired her complaints during numerous appearances, all of which saw a defiant judge who refused to bend to her arguments.. Without reading a motion for recusal, he stated at one point in advance that he would deny any such, and plowed ahead.
All the while Gotro protested that she cannot give her client adequate legal counsel while defending a case against two prosecutors, both the DA and staff, and the Judge.
There are numerous citations of his alleged misconduct in her motion and supplemental arguments, many of which were previously argued before visiting Judge James Morgan of Comanche in a grueling day-long hearing that led to his recusal of the judge in the cases of Rolando Reyes, Paul Landers, and Burton Bergman, all of whom were arrested the same day in 2015, as was Carrizal.
Central to the allegations of complaint in those motions are the fact that Judge Strother scheduled a court appearance for both attorneys and defendants at a docket call, and his staff then directed the defendants and their legal representation to proceed from the courtroom to the DA’s office in order to give tissue samples for DNA analysis.
When the lawyers asked for a court order or a search warrant, the DA’s staff at first could not produce one; they demanded that the lawyers see Judge Strother about that. When a warrant was located, it was three days out of date, or “stale”, and therefore invalid.
The ensuing arguments between prosecutors and defenders turned ugly, according to testimony given in the hearing before Judge Morgan.
Lead Prosecuting Counsel Michael Jarrett asked one of the attorneys, former District Judge Susan Criss of Galveston, “What do you want us to do, break down his (defendant Rolando Reyes’) door in the middle of the night and serve the warrant then?”
At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Morgan remarked, “I came in here ready to finish this thing today, but I can see now, I’m going to have to give this a lot of thought.”
On August 30, after days of reflection, he granted the three motions for recusal in the three cases.
On Wednesday, September 5, Judge Strother filed a statement with the District Clerk saying he will not recuse himself.
That means that Judge Daniel H. Mills of Burnet County will have to hear the arguments both for his recusal and against it, and then everyone concerned can wait the requisite number of days to see if there will be an appeal to the 10th District Court of Appeals, with all the attendant paper and procedure that entails.
The gavel will drop on the hearing at 1:30 pm on Friday, September 8. Jurors have been ordered to phone the Court Coordinator’s Office after 5:30 pm on that same day to learn their instructions as to when to appear, either on Tuesday, September 12, or at a later date.
And, as usual, here in Six Shooter Junction, there is little doubt that the floggings will continue – at least, until morale improves.
At one point recently, following a frustrating day in court, Carrizal told The Legendary, “To them, it’s a game; but for me, it’s my life.”
He faces not less than 25 years or more than 99 if convicted for engaging in organized criminal activity. If convicted of the charge of directing the activities of a criminal organization, he faces not less than 30 years behind penitentiary walls or more than 99.
No doubt that’s what he means by that remark. We asked no follow-up questions.
So mote it be.
– The Legendary