Waco – Los Pirados – the pirates – started with I3 original members. Their colors are orange and black and the center patch of their three-piece with a Waco rocker is a “laughing theater” face.
Mike Lynch, the current president of the club, is a residential plumber from Mart, Texas, located about 20 miles due east of Waco.
Years ago, he was impressed with the Confederation of Clubs, their legislative arm, the Legislative Strike Force, and U.S. Defenders. They made him see that he and his brethren and their old ladies could have some influence in the affairs of state.
His wife Sandra approached the management of Twin Peaks to reserve enough space both on the patio and in the parking lot to hold a two-hour meeting of two regions of the COC in order to hear about developments at a national meeting of the organization, to update members from both the Austin and central Texas area and the Dallas-Ft. Worth areas. She was expecting 200 bikes.
The couple wound up busted for engaging in organized criminal activity, but they have not been indicted. There’s a story in that. Before the day was over, Sandra Lynch had been vilified and abused, her husband threatened and terrorized as before beginning in March at the location.
Lynch has a special relationship with a Constable of Precinct 1, Walt Strickland, who is also a home builder and fixer-upper. Lynch testified, “He’s one of contractors,” when he took the witness stand.
When Lynch saw there would be trouble, he called Strickland. It’s the way things are done in this area. You know a lawman, and when trouble shows its ugly face, you call him, no matter where you are or what jurisdiction you may be in. Strickland assured him the authorities would look into the matter.
This prompted a great deal of tension on his cross examination by the defense counsel. Here’s how it unfolded.
Before he called Walt Strickland, Mike Lynch said he saw no patrol cars. Right after he called him, he saw a patrol car drive through the lot. He demurred when asked if he has seen the text messages he sent Walt Strickland. Casie Gotro asked why are you hesitating to answer that question? “Because I just saw them.” He said Michael Jarrett showed him. He said, “All of a sudden I saw them (the Cossacks) come over the rail.” And that’s how it started, the so-called shoot-out. A superior number of Cossacks, estimated at about 100, waited to ambush the Bandidos. When they arrived, they abandoned the postions on the patio where they had taken every available table and neglected to order any entrees or beverages, and attacked. That was when the first shots were fired.
Bandido Jake Carrizal’s defense attorney Casie Gotro asked him if he had been offered immunity in exchange for his testimony. Say what? Immunity from what? He and his old lady went to a political meeting, suffered harrassment and abuse, and now he needs immunity from prosecution to tell the truth about what happened?
Lead Prosecutor Michael Jarrett objected mightily.
Gotro re-phrased her question to “Did the state offer you testimonial immunity to testify today?” Lynch said, “They were supposed to.” When pressed, he said. “I don’t know.”
It’s like this. Lynch stationed himself at a truck stop not far from the Twin Peaks restaurant to meet up with his fellow Pirados. His wife contacted him to let him know things weren’t going as planned. He told her to stay out of the way.
When he left Flying J on March 17, 2015, he learned the Cossacks had cussed his wife, run over her foot, spit on her. He called Constable Walt Strickland and asked, “Walt, where are the uniforms? You know they’re trouble.” At that point, the judge called a 15-minute recess.
While he waited at Flying J for other members, he saw as many as 60 Cossacks pass by. He called his wife Sandra who was already there. “I told her to stay out of the way.” It turns out it wasn’t the first time that kind of thing happened when confronted by members of the Cossacks.
At a visit to Twin Peaks in March, Sandra Lynch and Owen Bartlett went outside to smoke. When Lynch went outside, Owen Reeves and 8 or 9 Cossacks surrounded him. They kept him surrounded him for ten to fifteen minutes. “He was just running his mouth, that’s all…Maybe wanted trouble, but I wasn’t having it.”
There’s a reason for all this.
When Los Pirados adopted their three part patch, they took he art work to the President of the Heart of Texas Bandido Chapter, “Just to make sure it didn’t conflict with any other club. They are a mom and pop club because they have female members. They are members of the Region One COC&I and the Legislative Strike Force of U.S. Defenders. He is aware that there is a Waco Cossacks Chapter and that there is no Bandidos chapter there. “I knew they didn’t like each other.” He said, “I had no concerns about the Bandidos whatsoever…I had concerns about the Cossacks, yes.”
Jarrett asked if he thought it was reasonable when he comes to talk to people to be armed?
Lynch asked, “What’s the question?” That’s when Jarrett asked if he thought it reasonable to carry two AK-47’s, two Glocks and a thousand rounds of ammunition. Lynch said, “I don’t know; some people carry that in the truck all the time.” He didn’t call 911 when the Cossacks ran over Sandra’s foot. He said, I wasn’t going to walk through the Cossacks. I was scared.”