The shootout at the Twin Peaks restaurant in 2015 claimed the lives of nine people and injured twenty others. Four years later, closure has not yet come for those who were injured and for the families of those who died in the shootout. It looks like closure or justice may not ever come for those people, at least not through the Texas legal system.

Earlier this month, the McLennan County District Attorney announced that the twenty-four cases that remained pending in connection with the shootout would be dropped. This is a surprising turn of events, considering that immediately following the shooting, one hundred and seventy-seven people were arrested in connection with the shootout, charged with participating in organized crime and held on million dollar bonds. Of those individuals who were arrested and charged, only one case ever proceeded to trial, and the trial ended with the declaration of a mistrial.

The District Attorney stated that the decision to drop the cases was made based on the evidence and the facts, along with the laws of the State of Texas and the interest of justice. The overall cost of the Twin Peaks incident has surpassed a billion dollars and continues to increase. The District Attorney’s decision to drop the cases seems to be connected to the strength of the evidence, which was exposed as lacking.

Evidentiary challenges are crucial to many successful criminal defenses, and this high-profile case with its large number of defendants is no exception. The defense attorneys for all of the defendants connected with the Twin Peaks shootout have worked hard over the past four years to challenge the police procedures followed during the incident and the arrest and processing of all of the defendants as well as the handling of the evidence connected with their cases. Lack of probable cause was cited in many challenges to the charges made against the defendants, along with allegations of numerous violations of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Challenges to excessive bond round out the list of strategies employed by defense attorneys on behalf of their clients.

It was reported that the defendants in the Twin Peaks cases have benefited from the vigorous efforts of their defense counsel. That is something good that has come from the horrific event at Twin Peaks and the state’s response to it, which many feel was inappropriate. Unfortunately, a great deal of harm was caused not just in terms of injury and death, but in the fact that it has taken four years for some of the defendants to have a resolution of their cases. Some of the defendants have been under the shadow of the ongoing criminal cases for too long, suffering from the physical and emotional consequences that come when one is arrested and charged with a crime. With the dismissal of the last twenty-four cases, the remainder of the Twin Peaks defendants will finally be able to begin moving forward again.

If you are charged with a crime in Texas, contact Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra right away. Criminal charges can have a far-reaching effect on your life. It is critical that you act now because your freedom and your rights are at stake. Please call our office to talk with us today, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.